NaLu One-Shots
by PaintedBird1214
Summary: NaLu one-shots! Fluffy ones, angsty fics, song fics, injury/death fics, etc. Updates come at random. I hope you enjoy my one-shots! WARNING: SOME PARTS MAY INCLUDE SPOILERS! Also most of these are modern AUs so that's that
1. 1: Crying On A Suitcase

_"Hey, guess what," she giggles, the sound of her voice and laugh lighting up my life._

 _"What?" I ask, looking down at her._

 _Instead of saying anything else, she pulls me closer, our lips meeting in a soft kiss, a smile on both our faces. When we pull apart, she leans her head on my chest and I wrap my arms around her. "I love you," she whispers into my chest, just loud enough for me to hear._

 _I squeeze her gently in reply. "I love you too," I say._

The memory acts as a sword right now, stabbing through my heart in a sharp, painful attack. I can only imagine that smile now.

 _Looking down at her sleeping form, I feel like the luckiest guy to ever live. She's all I've ever wanted and I'm just unimaginably lucky to have her the way I do. That's when she shifts slightly in her sleep and mumbles something in her sleep. It's quiet, almost inaudible but I manage to make it out. "Natsu..." Before I can react, she readjusts herself again, this time snuggling deeper into me. "Don't leave me..."_

 _A small frown appears on my face at this. Is she dreaming of me leaving her? I couldn't possibly do that but it must feel real in her dream._

 _"Love you..." she murmurs as a small smile forms. It only lasts a second before her face is the normal neutral but I can tell she's still happy so I kiss her forehead gently._

 _"I love you too, Luce."_

This one feels like an explosion, forceful with enough power to tear my heart to shreds. I clutch at my chest as a tear slides down my cheek.

 _"Who was that?" she asks casually, though I can see worry and fear in her eyes._

 _"It was no one," I reply, shaking my head._

 _There's a moment of silence before she nods her head and turns away. That's when I get another text. Glancing back at Lucy, I turn away. "Hey, uh, I have to go."_

 _"Oh, okay. Bye."_

 _After giving her a single peck on the forehead, not like our usual goodbye lip kisses, I leave quickly, eager to get away from Lucy and see Lisanna again._

This feels like claws ripping through me. I can't believe I ever even thought of cheating on my Lucy.

 _"N-Natsu?" Her voice is thick and heavy. When I whip around, disconnecting myself from Lisanna, it's obvious she's fighting back tears, though she's failing miserably as they slip down her face._

 _"Luce! It's not what it looks like!" I pathetically claim._

 _"Not...Not what it looks like Natsu? So you're trying to tell me you weren't just making out with Lisanna? That you weren't just cheating on me?" Her voice cracks as she says 'cheating' and she's visibly shaking. Before I can reply, a sob escapes her and she turns, running out of the room in a desperate attempt to prevent me from seeing her fall apart completely._

This is the one that breaks me. It sends waves of agonizing pain through my whole body. I made a terrible mistake. A grave mistake. Now she's sitting at the airport, waiting to board a plane that will take her far away from this city. Far away from me. I broke her happiness and I broke her spirit. If I drove fast enough, I might be able to catch her. The airport is close enough. I only live a few minutes from it. Shaking my head, I know I can't do that. What if I went there and she rejected me anyway? What if I got there and she left anyway? She probably doesn't want to see me anyway.

 _"Forever? You promise you'll stay forever?"_

 _I crash our lips together, desperate to feel her lips against mine. The kiss lasts for so long and we only pull apart when we do because of the annoying human need to breathe. Leaning my forehead against hers, we sit there for a moment, catching our breath. Then I look her deep in her beautiful brown eyes and nod my head. "Forever. I promise to never leave you and to stay with you forever because I love you, Lucy Heartfilia."_

 _Then I pull her in for another deep, passionate kiss._

Forever.

That's when it hits me and I jump up. I can't let her leave! I said forever and I can't break that now. Not after the years we've spent together. Running to the entrance, I shove my shoes on and bolt out of the house. The cold wind bites at my skin but I don't have the time to bother with a jacket so I ignore it. I open the door to my truck, slam the door shut, start the engine, and race out. The gates to that plane open at 8:00 and it's currently 7:38. 22 minutes. I have 22 minutes to get to her. 22 minutes to get to stop her from crossing through the gate that signals a broken promise.

Normally the drive would be a good 20 minutes but time isn't a luxury item I can waste. Every millisecond counts. I'm driving way above the limit, swerving through traffic, and ignoring all stop signs and stoplights. Thankfully, it's Monday so there's not as much traffic as there usually is. I somehow miraculously make it to the airport in a mere 14 minutes. Time, however, is still against me. I still have many obstacles to get through and I only have 8 minutes to do it. I'm so close yet so far away.

The traffic at the actual airport is much thicker than the traffic on the roads. With time a precious resource, I don't have the time for the inching along so I swerve the truck to the side of the road, run it into the curb, shut it off, and jump out. My legs push me along as fast as they can get and as I run past checkpoints and places I'm supposed to pay to get into, I can hear people calling after me, telling me to stop and that I have to pay but I ignore them and my pace only gets faster.

As I burst through the doors of the airport, I can feel the curious stares of people but they're the last people on my mind. I push through people, my eyes searching wildly for the right area. When my eyes land on it, I'm quickly turning my body that way. I also steal a glance at my watch. 7:56. The gate that stands as a wall separating all the plane passengers from their friends and family looms above me and my eyes wildly scan for a way to slip through them but after a precious minute slips by, I say screw it so I jump over the separator. "Sir! Sir you can't do that!" I hear a woman call.

Of course I just keep running. I don't know what gate her plane is at so I'm left frantically searching, yelling out her name. Time slips by and I still haven't seen her.

Last call for Gate 24.

Gate 24! That must be hers! With a mere 2 minutes left, my eyes land on Gate 24.

"Lucy! Lucy please talk to me!"

People are everywhere, lots of them are watching me.

Faces and faces.

But none of them are hers.

1 minute left.

And then suddenly, there she is.

She's sitting on her suitcase, tears streaming down her eyes, staring at the gate.

Then suddenly she stands up, quickly making her way to the gate and just as she's about to hand the lady at the gate her ticket, I yell her name.

"Lucy!"

She whips around, her eyes widening. "N-Natsu! What are y-you..."

"I'm begging! I'm pleading! Please Lucy! Don't leave me! I messed up, you know that but I regret it with all my heart and soul. I regret ever even _looking_ at Lisanna!" I see her flinch as I say that name but I continue. Tears are freely falling now. "I can't stand the thought of losing you! I took you for granted and I hurt you and I know I don't deserve it but please oh _please_ Luce, give me one more chance! I broke so many laws getting to you just now. Please don't let me get arrested for nothing!"

"So all you care about is the laws, huh?"

"No, no, no Luce! That's not what I me-"

I'm cut off as I feel our lips connect.

"I'm teasing you, idiot. I know what you meant," she says lightly when we pull apart.

I pull her into a tight, bone-crushing hug then. "Oh Luce. You're too good for me."

That's when she pulls away and our eyes meet. She looks serious and now all lightheartedness is gone but her eyes are beautiful just the same. "Forever. You said forever and now that you've had a taste of forever being cut short by your own hands, I have faith you won't do it again."

"Forever. I promise to never leave you and to stay with you forever because I love you, Lucy Heartfilia," I vow. "And this time I mean it."


	2. 2: Sleeping Lion

I never had any friends my age. I never had the chance to meet any. I was born into the captivity of the Heartfilia mansion. After my mother died, the closest thing I had to a friend was Aquarius. She was always angry at me and she yelled at me a lot but I kept summoning her anyway. The time I spent with her made me happy because even though she was constantly grumpy or angry, she was company. She was a companion. I love her, whether she loves me or not. But now time has shown me it is my worst enemy. It has brought me to losing her forever. It stole her from my life. It has left me on the ground crying with an enemy standing above me. Jackal. He's yelling at me, saying he wants to give me a further reason to cry, calling me a stupid bitch. That's when he attacks me and I don't do anything to stop him.

 _Born in captivity, time's your worst enemy. Your face is getting older. You try to keep your rage, inside this golden cage. Your heart is getting colder._

But when I look up, there's a force field made of water. That can only belong to one person I know. "Aquarius! Where are you, Aquarius?" I yell out, hoping for an answer though deep down I know it's not likely.

Just a moment later, instead of getting an answer, I get something even less expected. A blue glow starts emitting around me, lifting me up slightly, and I can feel the magic surging into me.

"Aquarius' magic has turned into power for you, old friend," a familiar voice informs me.

"Celestial Spirit King!" I exclaim.

"Rise, old friend!" This has given me new spirit and with those words, I find myself on my feet once again, glaring at Jackal in front of me, who has been watching the events unfold before him. "Rise, old friend!"

The blue glow around me bursts and dissolves into the air but it leaves behind one thing. Aquarius' chest mark on my own. "I will!"

"May the stars guide you," Celestial Spirit King offers me.

"Thank you!" I scream and with that, my interaction with the Spirit King comes to end. That leaves just me and the enemy ahead of me. Just moments ago, I was slowly dying with the pain of losing a friend and I was allowing myself to get laughed at, to get looked down upon because of it. But now it's my time to fight back.

 _Day by day they treat you like an animal. You've gotta fight. You've gotta start a riot. So let's wake up your sleeping lion._

It's time for me to stand on my own. For Levy, Gray, Erza, Happy, Master, Mira, Elfman, Lisanna, Jet, Droy, everyone else in Fairy Tail. For Natsu. And for Aquarius.

With my eyes closed, I look down, silently thanking Aquarius for everything she's ever done for me. Her mark on my chest starts glowing a light blue.

Now Jackal is back to attacking me, asking me if I've forgotten his curse power. he throws explosions at me. "Die! Die! Die! I'll blow you to smithereens!" he threatens me. He thinks he's done the job, betting there's not a single trace of me left. But he's dead wrong.

When the smoke clears, he's surprised to see me standing behind a force field exactly like the one from earlier. My eyes are still closed and he's the last thing on my mind with this force field. You were right Aquarius. I can't keep crying forever.

Mad that I'm not reacting to his attacks, he throws another one at me but it results the exact same way. And I can always cry later! With that, the water falls to leave me exposed.

Right now, to save my friends...I have to fight!

It's my turn to catch fire. I can't let it get me down now.

 _Catch fire, catch, catch fire! Wake up the sleeping lion and use your mind. Catch fire, catch, catch fire! Wake up the sleeping lion. Do you feel alive? Don't let it get you down._

I've had many sleepless nights, kept awake by demons, both my own and other's. I've been left running around in circles, their cold fingertips always making my blood run cold. I'm not letting these ones keep me running any longer.

A yellow glow forms around me as the magic runs through me. "Sound out to the heavens, open the heavens. Stars across the universe, show yourselves to me with all your brilliance! Tetrabiblos, I am the ruler of the stars. My aspect is perfection. Open the savage gate. 88 stars of the heavens, shine on!" I shout and on the last tow words, my eyes shoot open.

 _Do you know the reason why? Why they never let you sleep at night and you're running round in circles. Their frozen fingertips against your burning lips. A fight without heroes. You've gotta fight. You've gotta start a riot. So let's wake up your sleeping lion._

The time has come to beat these demons and save my friends from their ice cold grasps.

The yellow glow continues to get brighter, its strength getting more and more intense.

"Urania Metria!" I scream as loud as I can. Now the light has morphed into beams of yellow. With amazing strength and power, the beams are shot toward Jackal.

My inner lion has been awoken and it's blazing with the fires of passion.

 _Catch fire, catch, catch fire! Wake up the sleeping lion and use your mind. Catch fire, catch, catch fire! Wake up the sleeping lion. Do you feel alive? Don't let it get you down._

 **I don't know if I did any good with this one. Please tell me what you think!**


	3. 3: Gone and Scattered

All that could be heard was sobs of agony. Everything else was deadly silent. He was gone and was the guild. She was completely, utterly alone and that made bile rise in her throat because she lost the one and only family she had ever had since her mother's death. She had finally tasted pure love and care.

But now Natsu had left suddenly to train for an unknown amount of time and in unknown places. For all she knew, he would never make it back. That alone had left her broken. She loved him and although he didn't know it, it still hurt her. Even as just friends, he should've thought about her and the rest of the guild a little longer and a little more before he just up and left. After finding that little note, she ran off trying to find him. She needed to catch him before he got too far and she couldn't stop him. But he had already been too far gone. His trail had grown cold and running wasn't fast enough to catch up to him. So she had returned home later that night, her heart aching and tears spilling. Then the next day, when she went to the guild to tell anyone who didn't know while simultaneously trying to find things to cheer her up, she found it in a frenzy. There was yelling and protesting. It wasn't long before Lucy was told the reason why. After hours of protesting and refusals, the whole guild felt the news settling in the atmosphere and on their skin. As everyone slowly started accepting it, Lucy certainly didn't but she didn't put up much of a fight. She knew that if she muttered a single word, she would break down in front of her and while she knew nobody would blame her for it, she didn't want to burden them with it. So she watched as the guild emptied to stay. She watched as her family scattered, starting a new life. And she watched as her life began anew as well.

Before she knew it, she was in Crocus as a writer for Sorcerer's Weekly but her old home was never left forgotten. As time passed, she learned to live with the constant ache of her lost and scattered family. She learned how to smile again, though it was never as bright as it had been with Fairy Tail. And that's how she lived.

Every once in a while, however, the ache felt especially strong and those days were hard to get through. Today was one of those days. Today was one of the worst. This was the worst of the bad.

As more tears fell to the floor, Lucy couldn't help but picture her family in Fairy Tail. There was one person stood out even more than the rest, however. He had a cute grin and pink-no, salmon-hair. He had a scarf that he always kept close and a heart made of gold that was alight with flames of passion. He was an idiot but a loveable one. And boy did she take that 'loveable' seriously. She loved him with everything she had.

"Natsu, you flame-headed idiot, why did you leave me?" she cried out, her voice cracking at 'why.' She knew an answer wasn't going to be given. He wasn't there to answer. If he was, she wouldn't be crying. Not of this pain anyway.

Her sobs only worsened as she imagined him smiling at her, hearing the ghost of his laugh in her ear. The atmosphere of the room was dark and heavy. It felt like the weight of the world and more was all stuffed into that one room. Any bright colors that were seen seemed out of place. It was all too happy for her mood.

When her tears finally slowed, her sobs dulled, and her body shook less, Lucy weakly lifted her torso and head up, her arms straining to stay locked to prevent falling. Wiping away the last of the tears, her face felt cold and she could still feel the path the tears had trailed down her face on. Besides for a sniffle here and there, the place was now completely submerged in mind-numbing silence. She quietly got up and walked over to her window. She opened it up and sighed as she let the cold wind embrace her.

And there she sat, the salmon-haired, flame-brained, idiotic boy she loved dearly and missed terribly still on her mind.

 **There ya go! Another one-shot up and done! Fun fact: If you stop at "When her tears finally slowed, her sobs dulled, and her body shook less, Lucy weakly lifted her torso and head up, her arms straining to stay locked to prevent falling," it's exactly 666 words.**


	4. 4: That's My Girl

"Hey! Get your eyes offa her!" Natsu demanded, pulling the blonde closer to him. The girl squeaked in surprise as the boy being yelled at threw his hands up, backed up a step, and averted his gaze, showing his defeat. Noticing this, a smirk formed across Natsu's face as his grip on the blonde loosened a bit.

"Natsu, you don't need to go scaring them all off."

"Of course I have to scare them off, Luce! I can't just let them eye-rape you!"

Lucy giggled at this, shaking her head at the boy. "Well that one was a harmless glance. A single glance isn't eye-rape."

"Close enough."

"It's not though," she stated.

"I don't see what the problem is. I'm just protecting you 'cause you're my girl, not theirs."

Just as Lucy was about to reply, Natsu caught sight of another eye-rapist. "Hey, she's my girlfriend so move along!" Looking at the boy Natsu yelled at, Lucy noticed that he didn't look harmful at all. Just terrified. He took multiple steps back, his eyes widened one hundred times their normal size, he raised his hands up, and shook his head frantically.

"No, no! I promise I wasn't looking at her!" the male assured, though Natsu didn't believe it one bit.

Lucy, knowing what Natsu was about to do, quickly grabbed his hand, causing him to look at her. She shook her head and continued walking, pulling him along with her.

"Lucy, why didn't ya let me beat 'em up?" Nats whined.

"Because he looked terrified. I think he learned his lesson just from your from your glare."

"He better have. If not, he's gonna get beat. Again, you're my girl," Natsu grumbled.

"Well Natsu, your girl thinks you should let it go."

"And what if I don't?"

"I will Lucy Kick you," she threatened.

"Oh no, so scary. I'm terrified," Natsu mocked playfully.

Scoffing, Lucy let go of his hand, crossing her arms and looking away. "If you're gonna mock me, you don't get my love."

It was Natsu's turn to freak out now. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her as close to him as he could get her. "No, no, no Luce! I'm sorry! Forgive me!"

"If you tell me honestly my Lucy Kick is scary and threatening."

"Now, Lucy, if it's not true, I can't possibly say it honestly," he smirked.

Lucy then pushed him away, once again crossing her arms. "Fine, no love and now no raiding my fridge either."

This caused him to gasp. "Lucy that's just plain cruel!" he exclaimed.

"Then tell me my Lucy Kick is scary and threatening!" she repeated.

Sighing, he pulled her closer to him once again. "Lucy, your Lucy Kick is honestly one of the most terrifying things I've ever experienced. Almost as scary as Erza."

Grinning happily, Lucy then hugged Natsu's waist. "I knew it!" Natsu just chuckled in reply.

"Damn Luce, my girl is just too cute."

 **Two in one day! This one is short but cute**


	5. 5: Impossible

The battle was still going strong and as usual Fairy Tail was putting up a good fight. The number of enemies was overwhelming but all of us were still fighting with all our might. We all had injuries but none of us gave up. We couldn't. The world depended on the defeat of this enemy and we've prevailed against all odds before so there's no way we couldn't do it now. We'd always made it out with no deaths somehow so we were all confident it would be the same way this time, though none of us risked our lives on it.

We had all gotten separated, though I managed to stay at least close to Lucy, which I was extremely grateful for since I could keep an eye on her to make sure she was safe. I had to turn my back on her multiple times so I could focus on the battle but I made sure I never strayed far during those times.

But then it happened. I had turned my back for a minute, just a minute, and suddenly, a ray of some kind of magic flew past me. My eyes followed it and when I saw where it was headed, I felt my heart stop in my chest. "Lucy, watch out!" I practically screamed but it was too late. Her eyes widened in fear as she saw it comin toward her after she had turned around to face me. She barely had time to register what was happening before it hit her.

Her body fell to the ground and a scream escaped her.

Lucy!" I shouted, all enemies forgotten as I raced toward her. When I got to her, I fell to my knees, wrapping her beaten, bruised, and bloody body in my arms. "Please be okay."

She slowly opened her eyes and though they were cloudy and had tears piling up in them, they were just as beautiful as always. "N-Nat...su..."

"Lucy...Please don't leave me. Not now!"

But the blood was still spilling, soaking the ground and both our clothes with no signs of even slowing down. "N-Natsu...I have to tell you...something I should've...told you a long time...ago," she told me.

"No Lucy. You have to save your energy. You can tell me later when you're all patched up!"

A small smile formed on her lips. "Natsu, that's not... gonna happen."

"And why not?"

"You know why..."

Shaking my head, tears started spilling down my face. I couldn't lose her. Not Lucy. I can't lose Lucy. "No. No I can't let that happen!" With tears streaming down my face, I stood up. "I'm gonna defeat all these bastards and I'm going to get you healed!"

Before she could respond, I turned away. Flames engulfed my body, my rage and despair overwhelmingly strong. With this new strength, defeating them were so easy now. I took them out almost too easily. Their numbers were slimming and my fire was still as hot and dangerous as ever. They wouldn't get away with hurting my Lucy like that so easily.

My rage only started to calm once there were very few of the monsters left. I was starting to see my guildmates. Before long, there were no more left. All of them had either died or had fled for their lives. As the last one in sight fell, my flames died down and I immediately turned to race back to Luce but she wasn't where I left her.

"Lucy! Luce! Luce, where are you?" I yelled. "Find Lucy! Find her now!"

My guildmates were all looking at me worriedly but I didn't but I didn't bother to explain as I started frantically searching for her. The others quickly joined me.

The search went on for multiple agonizingly long minutes before I spotted her, sheltered in a small ditch covered with rubble from a fallen building. I quickly wrapped my arms around her and picked her up. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving but I could see her shallow breathing. As long as she was alive, there was hope. Her head fell against me and she was completely limp "Luce. Lucy, you're going to be okay!"

At the sound of my voice, she opened her eyes and opened her mouth to say something but she just started coughing, her body getting thrown forward with each new cough. I held her close to me and rushed to where most of the others were.

"Help Lucy! She needs help! Please! She's gonna die!" My heart broke as I said the last word but I needed everyone to understand the urgency of the situation so I forced it out anyway.

Everyone was surrounding us but I wouldn't let anyone touch her but myself. A bunch of people touching her would just make it worse for her.

I could feel her breath getting shallower and shallower with each passing second, causing me to become more and more frantic. Most people were searching wildly for Wendy or anyone who could help her and the ones who weren't were making sure I didn't go crazy. They all knew I cared about her more than anything or anybody else and they knew how terribly I would take it if I lost her.

When Wendy was finally found, she raced as quickly to Lucy and I as she could. I gently set Lucy on the ground so Wendy could work better but I refused to let go of her hand. At that moment, I would have rather died myself than let her go.

I knew with how bad Lucy's wound was, even Wendy's magic wasn't sure to save her but I couldn't just give up that hope. Wendy was probably my last hope, Lucy's last chance.

"Please Wendy! You can't let her die! You can't!" Tears were in my eyes again but I pushed them back. It wasn't the time for tears.

I watched as Wendy held her hands toward Lucy's wound, a green glow emitting from them. The bleeding wasn't stopping and I could see my worst fears coming true. Lucy was getting to the point of sure death. Before I had thought Lucy dying was impossible. It felt impossible. But now the impossible was happening.

The guild was eerily silent. The normally happy, loud, and cheerful guild hall was stuck in a silence so unusual it could drive a person mad. Even the sound of everyone breathing was near impossible to hear.

The cause of this eerie silence was the blonde Celestial key-holder in the next room hanging onto life by a dangerously thin thread. The war had done a number on everyone but as soon as word got out that their rare Spatial mage was on the verge of losing her life, all that was forgotten and any celebration for the victory was put on hold. To everyone in Fairy Tail, it felt like the world and time itself had stopped.

While the whole guild was feeling the effects of the situation, it was hitting me especially hard and I knew everyone was worried about me. They would be terrified for me if death occurred. I was currently in the room with her, along with my small blue flying friend, Happy. It had been a full week since the day she was left like this. Wendy had managed to stabilize her but it had taken all the magic she had. Lucy still hadn't woken up and her body was still terribly fragile, still fighting for a chance with everything it had.

I had barely left her side the whole time. My guildmates brought me food and drinks and I slept in a chair next to her and only when I couldn't possibly stay awake any longer. The only time I really left was to use the bathroom and the few times someone managed to convince me to leave her side for even just a few minutes. Nobody had ever seen me like this and by this time they had figured out that Lucy meant even more to me than they had originally suspected.

Nobody pushed me too hard. They knew I was as emotionally fragile as Lucy was physically. I could lose it at any moment if the girl didn't wake up soon. As I sat there, my eyes remained glued to her face. Though she had a large bruise on her neck and her actual face was quite scratched up, I couldn't help but smile at her beauty. No matter what condition was she in, I always found her beautiful. Along with her beauty, I also noticed how peaceful she looked. I had never seen her look more peaceful. Her eyes were closed lightly and her mouth was curved into the slightest smile. It was barely noticeable but I had noticed it with all the staring.. The light from the window close to her was hitting her perfectly, highlighting all her better spots.

I leaned forward, grabbing her hand. I had found myself doing this increasingly as time passed. I also found myself speaking my true feelings aloud, which I never dared to even utter under my breath when not a single other soul was around before. And that was what I ended up doing at that specific moment. "Lucy, oh my dear Luce. No matter how many times I look at you, I can never find anything wrong with you. You're so perfect. I know I've already said this plenty in the past week but I can't help it. I wish I had told you sooner, when you were still conscious and not...you know. I regret not telling you. I was so scared of what you would think of it but now that all seems silly. That fear was nothing compared to the fear I'm feeling now. I don't know how I'll live if you don't. You've become my everything so quickly. It's crazy how my fear of telling you this seems so stupid now when it felt so undeniably strong before. Luce, I love you. I love you as a person and I love you as a friend but I've also found that it has grown into more than that. I love you as more than a friend. I wish I could kiss you and hold you in my arms but mostly I wish that you could smile and laugh as I did it. That you would kiss me back and wrap your arms around me as well. I wish I wasn't telling this to you while you're so fragile and unable to answer me. Even if you rejected me, it would be 1,000 times better than this." With a sigh, I lean forward, my lips meeting her forehead. "I wish you were awake to feel that."

Leaning back in my chair, I close my eyes and lean my head back to try to relax a little. I can feel a tiny shred of hope ripping off and drifting away. I'm slowly being drained of all hope. I've already been told her chance of survival is near zero, that it's nearly impossible.

Impossible. It's funny how that word either represents complete despair or complete joy. Impossible to die would bring joy, so much joy. It means we could be together forever. But then impossible to survive beings the exact opposite. It brings despair, pleading at the world for 'impossible' to be a lie, and terror. It means I could never see your smile or hear your voice ever again. It's the extreme on both sides. It's the extreme happiness but it's also the extreme sadness.

"N-Natsu..."

My eyes shoot open and I nearly fall out of the chair but what matters is her eyes. Her eyes are open, her gaze directed specifically at me. I stare at her, total disbelief washing over me. This has to be some cruel joke. She's supposed to be barely alive. There's no way she woke up so quickly and painlessly.

But there she is in all her near death beauty.

When I finally snap back to reality, I shoot myself forward to get to her as quickly as possible and when I reach her, I wrap my arms around her, though it's light to keep from disturbing any injuries.

When we pull away from the hug, she gives me a great big smile. "C-can I t-tell you something?" she asks.

"Of course you can Luce. Anything. What is it?"

She pulls my head toward her and before I realize what's happening, her lips have met mine. Without questioning it, I kiss back and we stay like that until she pulls away.

"I love you too."

As it turns out, Fairy Tail just doesn't let the impossible stop us.

 **What is this? Three in one single day! I'm on a roll today! I promise this is the last one though. I'm tired.**

 **Anyway, this one is super long! 2,125 words to be specific. I'm honestly so proud of myself for this good** ** _and_** **long one-shot. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**


	6. 6: Confidence

Lucy's heart was pounding in her head and she stood frozen in place where she stood, her curled up hand still raised an inch from the door but her mind was racing even faster than her heart was. She had walked all the way here to finally tell him the truth but she froze before she was able to knock on the door. She had been driving herself mad over the past week with thinking about it. She had finally gotten tired of it and had decided to race over to his house where she knew he was at the moment.

Her walk over had been filled from beginning to end with talking confidence into herself and thinking as positively as she could manage. She had walked quickly because she knew this confidence wouldn't last long and if she didn't do it now, it would be another week or so before she would be able to rebuild the confidence back up. That would mean another week of driving herself her crazy, possibly quite literally this time.

Unfortunately for the blonde Fairy Tail mage, she was correct and that confidence had run dry just a few seconds too early. So there she stood, trying to get herself to knock on the door and get it over with. She needed to know his answer and she needed it fast.

Seconds turned into minutes and before she knew it, she had been standing there for half an hour. She knew the boy just inside the house would be eager to leave the small house and at this point, it could be any moment that he opens the door to find her standing there, completely frozen by fear.

With this in mind, she was starting to unfreeze. Her fist slowly made its way toward the door but in her current state, she was moving slowly. Her fist did reach the door but it had been moving so slowly, it didn't make a noise. Letting out a sigh, she forced it back, slightly faster than it had moved forward. Dropping it down to her side, she breathed in deeply and released it slowly. After breathing deeply a few times, she raised her hand up again and curled it into a fist at a normal speed. Ignoring her loud, fast heartbeat, she pushed it forward. This time it made a loud sound. To Lucy, it sounded deafeningly loud but she knew that was just her senses being overly sensitive with the terrible fear that had flooded her whole body. She pounded her fist a few more times against the wooden door before letting her hand drop to her side once again.

The seconds that passed afterward seemed to go on forever for her and with each millisecond, insecurities and _what ifs_ started overflowing her mind. The voices in her head voicing these insecurities and fears got increasingly loud and as they did, the number of fears they voiced increased as well.

After just a few seconds that felt like days, the door swung open, revealing the pink-haired fire mage that was unknowingly the cause of this inner turmoil. As soon as she caught sight of him, the voices, some of which were still in the middle of a sentence, stopped. Her heart skipped a beat as well, which was at least better than the pounding at the speed of light.

When he realized who she was, a large lopsided grin formed on his face. "Lucy!"

Smiling nervously, she slowly raised her hand to wave at him. "H-hi Natsu."

Noticing her nervousness and uncomfortableness, his grin faded and concern etched itself on his face in its place. "Luce? What's wrong?"

Forcing a small laugh, her eyes widened. "Who said anything's wrong?" She let out another nervous laugh.

"Oh come on Luce. I can see it on your face. Don't lie to me." Not knowing what to say without hinting at her internal battle, she rubbed the back of her neck and looked anywhere but Natsu. This, however, backfired because as he saw it, he knew it just confirmed his suspicions. Leaning closer to her, he watched her closely. "I can tell just by how you're acting."

"How am I acting?"

"You're laughing nervously, you rubbed the back of your neck, and you're avoiding eye contact," he stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I can also hear the nervousness in your voice. It's slightly shaky and always unsure."

Lucy stared at him in amazement after that. She was shocked that Natsu, an annoyingly dense and idiotic boy, could so easily and so surely tell exactly when she was nervous about something with even thinking about it. She was glad he at least couldn't tell what she was nervous about. "How...how could you tell so easily?" she asked.

"I know you Lucy. I can tell when you're not being your usual self," he shrugged. "But that doesn't matter. What's important is you telling me what is making you this nervous."

Looking around frantically, Lucy searched for an excuse to leave but she couldn't find anything and she knew it was too late to just leave. There was no way Natsu would allow it now. He wouldn't let her go until she gave him a legitimate reason as to why she was so anxious. So, with a sigh, she looked down at the ground and fiddled with her fingers. "I...have something I...want to tell you. Something really important."

Not daring to look up, she waited apprehensively. "Well then tell me already if you're this nervous about it. It can't be too bad."

Her hands were shaking as she slowly lifted her head to look at the boy. "Natsu...I...like you."

"Is that it?" She nodded. "Well Luce I don't know why you're so nervous about that. I like you too. You're my best friend along with Happy."

A small giggle escaped her as the dense Natsu she knew and loved made an appearance. "No Natsu. I _like_ you. I like like you."

"I like like you too. As I said, you're my best friend. More than just a friend."

With an amused sigh, she shook her head. "Natsu you're so dense. I like like like you."

"So I'm even more than a best friend to you?" Relieved he finally got it and wasn't reacting badly, she nodded her head and a smile grew on her face.

"That means I'm you bestest friend in the whole world!" he exclaimed. "Wow Luce. I knew we were best friends but I didn't know we're _bestest_ friends."

"Natsu! No! I _love_ you!" Though she knew he was dense, she had no idea he could be _this_ dense and it was frustrating. "Meaning I wish I could kiss you and hold you and call you mine!" As soon as this came out of her mouth, a gasp flew out as well and her hands flew up to cover her mouth. She saw as his eyes widened in realization and she felt her heartbeat stop. Fearing his answer and expecting the worse, tears started welling up in her eyes. "I...I'm sorry. I'll just...go," she whispered as se started to turn around.

He reached out to grab her but she had already ran out of reach. "Lucy! Wait!" he called after her but she just ignored him. She was expecting him to yell at her or tell her he never wanted to see her again and that she was so disgusting, he was repulsed at the thought of kissing and dating her. So her feet just pushed her forward faster as tears escaped her eyes.

Knowing he couldn't just let her leave, he started to run after her. He knew he could catch her so he pushed his body forward. He kept yelling at her to stop or slow down but she just kept yelling at him to go away.

When he finally got close enough to reach her, he lifted his hand out ahead of him and wrapped his fingers around her wrist. Forcing her to turn around they came to a halt, now in the middle of town. She tried to pull away but he was far stronger than her and held her in place easily. He could feel his heart ripping as he saw the tears streaming down her face. He didn't bother with words, however. Instead, he leaned down and pulled her closer to him. Their lips crashed into each other and he felt her muscles stiffen even more than they had already been. Soon though, she relaxed and started kissing back.

When they pulled apart, a large smile was on both their faces and he pulled her into his chest in a tight hug. "You idiot, you gotta give me time to speak. I love you too."

In response, she hugged him even tighter. The hug lasted many minutes, them both just enjoying the other's warmth. After the hug ended, Natsu grabbed her hand. "Now c'mon Luce. let's go to your warm bed and cuddle for a bit, k?"

With a large smile on her face, Lucy nodded and started running to her house, forcing him forward as well as their hands were still connected.

She definitely didn't regret telling him now.

 **And there you have it! Today's one-shot!**

 **But now it's time for important information. Since yesterday I went crazy and uploaded three times, I'm gonna slow down a bit. From now on, I'm gonna try to limit myself to just one a day unless the one is incredibly short and I think you deserve more. Also, I know these daily updates won't last so I just want to warn you now to be prepared for updates to be days apart.**


	7. 7: Lose You

"Lucy, I love you so damn much," you whispered in my ear, your breath tickling my neck. Your arms were loosely wrapped around my waist and you had your signature smirk.

"Natsu, I love you so damn much too," I grinned. You pulled me closer, our lips meeting in the middle.

When we pulled away, you grabbed my hand and pulled me along with you as you started running away. "C'mon Luce! Let's go on an adventure! There's gotta be a good job on the request board!" I allowed you to pull me along, a grin still painted on my face.

At the board, I allowed you to pick a job, knowing you'd pick a much dangerous 'adventure' than I would've. I wanted you to enjoy it and I knew you always enjoyed the jobs you pick more over the ones I pick. I pick the less dangerous ones.

The job you ended up picking was pretty far from Magnolia but I allowed it. Who was I to stop you from doing things you'd enjoy? So off we went. That day I was feeling nice so I let us take the time to walk there instead of forcing you to endure the pain of traveling on train. Of course I regretted being that nice when we had to camp overnight in the middle of nowhere, but I got to spend the night with you alone so it didn't matter too much.

The next day, we arrived at the town of the job we had taken. We met the person who had sent out the request and before I knew it, we were on our way to complete the job.

It was a request to take out a monster that had been destroying all the crops the person had grown, therefore destroying his livelihood and sending him packing to the nearest town until he could grow again. He had told us that from what he knew, the monster had stayed pretty much within the area the crop grew and there was no need to worry about it until we got there.

We were still a good distance from the farm so we were just walking, talking, and laughing. You had your arm around me as we walked. When you heard a suspicious noise, your laughing stopped abruptly and you pulled me closer protectively as you listened for anything else. We had stopped walking in order to decrease extra sound even further.

After minutes of hearing nothing else, you relaxed and we continued walking. We believed we were safe. We went straight back to what we had been talking about before, a smile on both our faces. Your arm was still wrapped protectively around me though I didn't mind. i just found it sweet you cared so much for me.

But then suddenly, your arm wasn't around me anymore. It happened in a split second. One second you were there and the next, the monster we weren't supposed to see for another mile had stolen you from me.

In the few milliseconds it took me to turn around, the monster had taken you and you were nowhere in sight. My mind went nuts and my body automatically reached for my keys. The monster had you and I needed you back.

But that's when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a blob of pink. I quickly ran over to you but you weren't moving. So I felt for your pulse.

You weren't breathing.

Shooting up in my bed, I felt the tears staining my face. Frantically pulling the blankets off, I sighed in relief as I saw you, asleep next to me. It was just a dream.

As if sensing my terror in your sleep, you rolled over to face me and sat up. When you saw my tear-stained face, you were quick to pull me into a hug. "Luce, what's wrong?"

More tears slipped out as I vividly pictured the dream in my head. "Natsu...you...nightmare...monster...died...I..."

Tightening your grip on me, you held me even closer. "Luce, shh, it's okay. It was just a bad dream. Everything's okay." I didn't respond so you lifted my head until I was looking at you. You held my face in your hands and used your thumbs to wipe away the tears. "Do you wanna tell me about it?"

Taking a deep breath, I held your hand and nodded. "The nightmare. We went on a job in a far away town. We were supposed to take down this monster that had been destroying this man's crops. He had told us that the monster had never left his property so we weren't on high alert. About a mile from the place, the monster...it...it snuck up on us and one second you had your arm around me and the next, you were gone. And then I saw you laying there and when I ran over, you...you weren't moving. You weren't breathing. You weren't doing anything. You were just..." Another tear slipped down my chek but you quickly wiped it away.

"Oh Luce...I'm sorry. But hey, look at me. I'm right here. No monster took me from you. I'm here and I'm breathing. I'm not hurt and I'll never leave you like that. Alright?"

Looking you straight in the eyes, I slowly nodded my head as a smile gradually formed. "Alright. Just...do one thing for me?"

"Of course Luce. What is it?"

"Hold me close when we go back to sleep tonight. I know it'll keep any more bad dreams away."

With this, you gave me a light smile before you laid back down. I quickly followed suit and laid down, my head on your chest. You wrapped your arms around me after pulling the blankets over us.

"Natsu?"

"Yeah Luce? What is it?"

"I love you. You know that, right?" You burst out laughing at this, leaving me confused and staring at you, bewildered. When you noticed my confused face, your laughing died down. "What was so funny?"

"Sorry Luce. I just find it hilarious you had to ask that since to me it's so obvious." I looked at you and you looked straight back, our eyes locking on each other. "Of course I know you love me Luce. And I'll tell you what, I love you just as much, if not even more."

With a wide smile on my face, I hugged you tighter and closed my eyes, this time falling asleep to nothing but good dreams.

 **And here it is! One-shot number 7! I actually wrote this the same day as I wrote number 6 so I have a feeling I'm gonna get real ahead if I keep up at this pace but stick to this one a day thing. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!**


	8. 8: Pacify Her

Their hands are swinging back and forth as they walk and they look like the happiest, healthiest couple to ever exist but when his eyes meet mine, I can tell he's wishing that hand was mine. Of course, he'd never say that out loud, especially not with her around. He looks tired and sad underneath the smile he has painted on. He's tired of dealing with her and he's sad that the most he can do with me is talk to me. And even that is a pain to do with her around. She's jealous and barely ever lets him out of her sight when there are other girls around. It's really quite annoying.

 _Tired, blue boy walks my way_

 _Holding a girl's hand_

After about an hour of forced distance between us, he finally has a chance to interact with me when she's called away by her sister for some 'important family business.' Almost the second the door closes behind the girl, he's rushing over to where I sit.

"Thank god Luce. I was about to lose my mind," he gasps as he reaches my side.

"When are you gonna do it?" I ask, wanting an answer to the question that I've been asking myself all damn week.

Sighing, he looks away. "I don't know. Soon. I can tell you that much."

A smile grows on my face at this and when he notices it, he gives me a questioning look. "Can 'soon' be now?" The question comes out as a whisper and I lean in close to him to say it. I run one hand down his arm and rest the other on his chest. I can see the longing in his eyes strengthen.

 _That basic bitch leaves finally_

 _Now I can take her man._

"You know, you shouldn't try to take things that aren't yours," he teases me.

"Oh shut up. You've always been mine in reality. You gave her the title and I'm simply trying to take what's mine," I state.

A grin I know so well and love so much forms on his face as he leans even closer to me. "Prove that to be true," he challenges, "and I'll dump her right there and then."

 _Someone told me stay away from things that aren't yours_

 _But was he yours, if he wanted me so bad?_

"I don't think I have to prove it. You know it's true."

"Why do you say that?"

"She's just too annoying for someone like you. People like you like people like me. She doesn't begin to compare to me," I say. "Besides, she's getting on my nerves and I want her out of my way."

 _Pacify her_

 _She's getting on my nerves._

Suddenly, he leans back and turns his head away. His grin fades as well and I can tell what he's going to say before he even says it. "But I love her."

As he says it, a smirk appears on my face and I know exactly what to do. Grabbing his shirt, I push him toward me and lean forward myself. He seems partially startled but he does nothing to stop it as the distance between our lips gets smaller and smaller. By the time they actually meet, I can tell any form of resistance he had before has melted away, leaving nothing but his desire for me and the truth behind.

When we pull away, my smirk only grows as I lean back against the table. "Stop lying, Natsu."

 _You don't love her_

 _Stop lying with those words._

"You got me, Luce. You proved me wrong. Now it's time to hold up my end of the deal," he says as he reaches for his phone. "Let me call her right up."

 _Pacify her_

 _She's getting on my nerves._

As soon as the call ends with an 'I love you' from both sides, though Natsu's is said with a knowing smirk and direct eye contact with me, I pull him back into me again and our lips meet for the second time within five minutes.

 _You don't love her_

 _Stop lying with those words_

Later that day, the girl arrives looking annoyed, frustrated, and angry. "What do you want, Natsu?" she hisses as she enters the room. "I'm cold, tired, and not in the mood for this." Before he can reply however, she continues to just continue rambling about her bad mood and the cold and all the things wrong with her spoiled little life.

As she does so, it's taking all I have not to slap the girl. If she's complaining now, she'll be a nightmare when she's told the reason why she was called here. Natsu has to keep throwing me serious glares when he can tell I'm about to lunge at her and stab her with her own high heels.

 _I can't stand her whining_

 _Where's her binky now?_

When she finally stops whining, I let out a quiet sigh of relief. At one point, Natsu had to grab my wrist to keep from punching her in the head after she had turned away so the lack of sound is welcomed with open arms. I genuinely feel bad Natsu has had to deal with her for so long. Loving her seems like it could decay a brain.

I can't keep a smile off my face as I think about what's going to happen next, though. He has finally chosen me over her for good.

 _And loving her seems tiring_

 _So boy, just love me down, down, down._

"Lisanna, it's time we break up. I have had my eyes on someone else for a long time now and I'm finally acting based on what _I_ want. Not what you want."

Her expression changes from annoyance to sadness but rests on anger as her eyes meet mine. "Don't tell me it's for her. Anyone but _her._ "

Natsu, in answer, walks over to me, grabs my hand, and pulls me in for a third kiss. I can feel her glare burning into my skin as we kiss, but I don't mind it. I finally have what I've wanted for so long.

 _Someone told me stay away from things that aren't yours_

 _But was he yours if he wanted me so bad?_

When Natsu and I pull apart, she tears her glare from me, instead focusing them on the ground. "I see. Fine. If that's how you want it, Natsu." I can see some tears run down her face but she brings her hands to her face and wipes them away. "I'll just go then."

 _Pacify her_

 _She's getting on my nerves._

Lisanna then turns and runs out the door. As she runs away, I can tell she's praying this is all just a dream and is thinking the exact same thing I had just around an hour ago. The difference between when I thought them and when she thought them is that hers is denial while mine was real.

 _You don't love her_

 _Stop lying with those words._

 **There you go! The update for today!**


	9. 9: Away

A year for every second. That's what time felt like. As I watched the clock, it went so slowly, it felt like a year had passed when in reality it had been a second. So that full hour felt like 60 years. I should've been 78 years old at the end of that hour. The end of that hour was, unfortunately, not when time sped back up. It was my senior year and this was my last day of school before graduation in a week so I was forced to wait patiently as my teacher told them her favorite thing about having them as a student, told them her most memorable memory of them as her student, and finally wished them luck in the future. Of course, these three things led to a trip down memory lane with some of the students which lengthened my wait even more.

When it was finally my turn to talk to the teacher, I did my best to calm myself down and focus on the conversation. After all, this teacher was my favorite and I didn't want to be rude the last time I probably ever see her. So I pulled on a smile and hugged her gently.

"Ah Natsu, my favorite troublemaker. As much as I won't miss your constant blurting out and interrupting my lessons, I'll definitely miss your spirit and happiness. You always were the happy one with your loudness and impulsiveness."

"What can I say, Mrs. R? That's just who I am!"

"Oh yes I know. I'll just never forget that time you bust in the door late to class with your half open backpack dangling on one arm, a bagel hanging from your mouth, your pants rolled up halfway, one foot with no socks or shoes and the other with shoes but no socks. That must've been the most interesting end of the day I've ever had!" she laughed.

Rubbing my neck and smiling sheepishly, I laughed slightly at the memory. "Please don't remind me about that. That has to be my most shameful day."

Laughing at me, she patted my shoulder. "Oh don't worry. Knowing you, I'm sure there'll be much worse later on in your life."

"Jeez, Mrs. R. Thanks for the vote of confidence," I joked.

"My pleasure, Natsu," she joked right back. "Oh! I just remembered something and it's a good thing too because this is my last chance. Natsu, I meant to do this a long time ago but you know me. Constantly forgetting things."

"What is it?" I ask genuinely curious.

"I just must get your parent's telephone numbers! They were always such a delight to have around and we became quite good friends over the year. We never had much reason to exchange numbers with how many times they saw me when picking you up but that's obviously not going to happen any longer what with this being your last day and all."

"Of course Mrs. R! Hold on a sec!" Setting my backpack down, I ripped out a small piece of paper and wrote down their numbers on it with my pencil. Stuffing the pencil and paper back in my backpack, I picked it up and held the paper out to the woman. "Here ya go!"

"Oh that's wonderful! Thank you Natsu!"

"It's no problem," I assure her.

"Well, I suppose I should let you go now. I bet you're secretly dying to get away from me so you can get to Lucy!"

"Ya got me, Mrs. R! You're right."

"I knew it!" she exclaimed with a small laugh. "I wish you good luck with your future Natsu! Hopefully I'll see you around sometime."

Waving my hand, I stepped out of the classroom. "Thanks! You were a brilliant teacher and I'll definitely miss you, Mrs. R!"

"Oh, Natsu please. You've stepped out of the classroom. You're no longer my student. Call me Savannah."

"You got it! See you around, Savannah!" With that, I turned around the corner and hurried to my locker where my beautiful girlfriend would be waiting.

When I got to the hallway my locker was at, I saw her almost immediately. "Luce! I'm sorry I took so long! You know Mrs. R. Always wanting to chat!"

"It's okay Natsu. You're here now and that's what matters!"

A smile appeared on my face after she said this and I gave her a peck on the lips. "You're honestly amazing Luce."

"That's what I try to be!"

"And please never stop trying."

Later that day, Lucy and I were at her house in her room, cuddling while watching a random TV show, though I wasn't paying attention to it and I'm sure she wasn't either. That suspicion was confirmed when she lifted her head from my shoulder and sighed. "Natsu, we need to talk about our future."

Sighing along with her, I nod my head. I knew it was going to happen sometime. I just wanted it to be a little later. "I know Luce. What do you have to say?"

Looking down, she fiddled with her hands for a minute before she looked up and our eyes met. "I don't know how our relationship will work long distance. I'm gonna miss you so much and you know how insecure I can get about other girls now, let alone when you're 3 hours away in college where you'll meet much prettier, much better girls," she confessed.

Grabbing her hands, I looked her straight in the eye. "Lucy, there's no girl that will ever be better than you. You're amazing and I love you with all my heart. I know this long distance will be hard and there will be times it feels overwhelming and too much but I will fight for you for as long as I need and I will reassure you about other girls as many times as I need to. I'll come visit you every chance I get and you know I'll be back in a flash when holidays come around. We need to make it just this one single year. Then you'll graduate and come join me in college." When I finish my little speech, she simply stares at me for a minute, processing everything I had said. Then a wide, beautiful smile grew on her face and she tackled me in a hug.

Laughing as we landed lying down on her bed with her on top, I felt my love for her only grow. "Natsu, I don't know how you do it but your thick idiotic brain can come up with the best speeches when it's needed. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Lucy. I'll do anything you need from me at any time. Now and when I'm in college."

She engulfed me in another hug and I hugged her back, feeling her body warmth surround me. I'm so happy I found her. I can only hope this long distance situation won't prove too difficult for us after being used to seeing each other every day.

"Natsu!"

Hearing her voice in real life again for the first time in months, I immediately felt one hundred times happier as my eyes searched longingly for her soft blonde hair and mesmerizing brown eyes. When I finally spotted her, she was already running my way, tears running down her face and her mind-blowing smile highlighting her features. Dropping my suitcase, I started running myself to decrease the amount of time until we meet again.

When our bodies crashed together, it felt like a gift from up above. It felt more than just amazing to feel her skin, hear her voice, and see her face again. The hug was tight and full of need. It let loose all the previously concealed feelings of longing.

The second our bodies pulled away, our lips met in a long, desperate kiss. It was the best I had ever had and I melted into it, all other thoughts evaporating like water. After pulling away, we simply stared into each other's eyes, studying them in person for the first time in 3 months.

"Luce, oh my god Luce. You can't imagine how much I've missed this."

"I think I can Natsu. You know I love you just as much as you love me. I understand it perfectly," she gently points out.

"Well then you also understand the immense happiness I'm feeling right now. It's been too long."

Nodding her head slightly, she pulls me closer and our lips meet once again. This kiss was just as good, though in a much different way. It was less desperate and much sweeter.

After this, we continue simply standing there, talking and laughing to make up for lost time. People were rushing past us. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry but the two of us and I was completely fine with that. All that mattered was me and her. Everyone else was nothing more than a silhouette passing by.

Time went by quickly and before we knew it, we had been standing there for an hour, only realizing when Lucy's father called, sounding completely freaked out and worried. As we rushed out of the train station, I knew I loved the blonde girl in front of me more than I could ever understand.

Man was I glad she felt the exact same.

 **Hey! Sorry this is so late! I had school and then right after we left to travel downstate. We arrived just around an hour ago and I've been writing since I got my laptop connected to the computer. The next few days might not get an update but I promise to make up for them later when I'm back home and back on my regular schedule. It's literally 11:51 here right now.**


	10. 10: Unknown Feelings

Though Natsu didn't know why, he often found anger building up inside him whenever another guy looked at, talked to, or touched Lucy. All he knew was that he hated it and wished only he was allowed to do those things. He had never mentioned it to anyone and always ignored it when he felt it but lately he had realized not acting on it was becoming harder and harder with each time it appeared.

That wasn't the only thing he had noticed though. Whenever he was around her, he felt the need to just grab her and hold her in his arms. He wanted to be touching her in some way every single moment he was around her and when he did touch her, he felt warmer than usual and the spot that touched her felt like it had been jolted with electricity. It was a good kind of electricity though. It made him feel happy.

He knew that if he didn't find a way to fix it soon, it was only a matter of time before there came a time he wouldn't be able to ignore it. There would come a time when he would end up fighting someone simply because they spared Lucy a single glance or he would envelop her in a random hug that might cause questions he didn't have answer for. So he needed a cure or a solution and he needed it fast. The problem was he had no idea what he needed to do to fix it. The only thing he could think of was to ask somebody else and go off what they say.

So one day as he made his way to the guild hall, he decided that today was the day he was going to ask someone. Of course he hadn't thought this far ahead and had no idea who would have to the best answer. This is what he thought about as he walked. When he came to the guild hall doors and still hadn't come to a conclusion, he decided he'd just ask anyone and everyone until he got a good reason.

"I'm here!" he yelled happily as he slammed the doors open.

"Nobody cares, Flamebrain!"

"What'd you say, Popsicle?" Natsu asked as he and Gray butted heads as per usual.

"What, have you lost you hearing now? Bet it bailed out on you like your brain did," Gray said.

"I can hear perfectly fine, Stripper."

"Then prove it, Candlestick."

"I will Ice Princess."

"Droopy Eyes."

"Squinty Eyes!"

"Streaker!"

"Ash-breath!"

"Flasher!"

"Pyromaniac!"

And so they continued throwing insults at each other as normal. Lucy, who was sitting at the bar across the whole room, was watching the two. Well, if you count watching specifically Natsu and only looking at Gray when he yelled an insult particularly loud watching them both. After a few minutes, however, she sighed and turned away to rest her head on her hand.

Mira, who wasn't tending to anyone or anything at the moment, noticed how distressed the blonde mage looked. "Is anything wrong?" the white-headed woman asked sweetly despite how obvious the answer was.

Shaking her head, Lucy answered, "Just some silly feelings."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Looking up at the woman behind the bar, Lucy thought about it. Would talking about it really help anything? It's not like Natsu would ever feel the same way about Lucy as Lucy felt about him? Sure talking might lift some of the weight off her shoulders but that's about all it would do and if Natsu happened to overhear it, he would know it all. But not telling a single soul and dealing with these feelings was overwhelming her. She should surely tell someone. So shaking off her fears the Celestial Spirit mage nodded her head.

"It's just that lately I've realized something huge and I'm not sure if I should ever tell the truth about it to anyone, besides you now. If Natsu found out about it, I don't know what would happen. It might change everything. I'm scared that our friendship would end. I don't know what to do. These feelings have been eating me alive lately and honestly that's the only reason I'm telling you. I'm just super confused."

"Lucy, I don't know what you're going through but I can tell you one thing for sure. Natsu would never end your friendship over something like that. You're special to him Lucy. Before you joined our guild, he was always happy but not all of it was true happiness. He was devoted to finding Igneel. But that was before he left for Hargeon and met you. After he returned with you, though it wasn't immediate, I could tell he was becoming happier. Less of his time has been completely focused on Igneel. You're helping him move on Lucy. So remember that no matter what, he's never going to give you up like that. He's completely willing to die for you should he ever have to so please don't think he'd consciously throw you away like that."

"Thanks Mira. That really helped," Lucy smiled. "But I'm going to go home now. I think after this conversation, I need some time to relax and decide if I'm going to tell him." She sttod and turned away only to be stopped by Mira's voice one more time.

"Between you and me, I have a feeling things would work out better than you expect if you told him."

"I hope so," the blonde replied. "Anyway, see you Mira!"

Only a few seconds after the door closed behind Lucy outside the guild, inside it Erza had gotten to her breaking point. Grabbing some pink hair in one hand and some raven hair in the other, she forced their head closer until they smashed together. "Stop fighting already you idiots!" Then she released them to let them fall to the floor and walked away calmly.

Following a few seconds of lying on the floor, Natsu stood up. With that fight over with, he suddenly remembered his dilemma and his plan to talk to somebody. Walking over to the bar and sitting in the exact spot Lucy had been just minutes ago. "Oi Mira! C'mere!"

Mira had been the first person he spotted and therefore became the first person Natsu wanted to ask. When the woman finally stood in front of him, her face held her usual innocent smile. "Yes Natsu?"

"I got somethin' to ask ya," Natsu answered.

"What is it?"

"I'm...not exactly sure." Not giving Mira time to ask him to clarify, he jumped into explaining further. "I've been feeling weird around Lucy. Every time I'm around her, I feel so warm and happy. More than I am already. And every time we touch, it feels amazing. I get this weird but good feeling that bubbles up inside me and the area that touched her feels like a jolt of lightening went through it but it's somehow an amazing feeling. I always want to just hug her and I don't know why but it takes a lot to stop myself. Then every time another guy even looks at her, I want to punch him in the face and start a fight because I don't want other guys to have the chance to see her. I feel like only I should be able to look at her, talk to her, and touch her and I hate when others get to. I just don't understand why. Do you know?" When Natsu finally finished explaining his dilemma, he looked up at Mira to find she had a gigantic grin across her face. As he looked at her with confusion, she giggled.

"Oh Natsu, I guess it shouldn't be a surprise to me that you're so dense."

"Oi, what are you talkin' about?"

"If anybody else in the world had these feelings you're explaining, it would take them a second to figure out why. The answer is extremely easy."

"Well what is it and where can I get a cure?"

Giggling again, Mira shook her head lightly. "There is no cure. Once you have it, there's no way you can get rid of it unless it's under some extreme conditions."

"What kind of extreme conditions? Is it a blizzard on a very high mountain? I can go. My high body temperature keeps me warm enough. Or is it like a desert? The heat wouldn't bother me at all."

"Not those kinds of conditions. A better way to word it would be circumstances. Only under extreme circumstances you would never agree to could you get rid of it."

"Of course I would agree to them! Tell me what they are," Natsu demanded.

Mira's face became suddenly serious, her gaze burning into Natsu. "Never look at, speak to, or touch Lucy again. Erase her from your life and leave her as a mere memory. And even then, it'll take a long time to remove them."

She watched as his jaw dropped, his face became blank, and he was left speechless. She continued to simply watch him, taking in every detail of his reaction. A full minute had passed by the time the boy snapped out of it. "Never! I would never do that!"

Mira's face brightened up once again. "Told you!"

Sighing, Natsu shook his head. "So what is it that's causing this anyway? You never told me," he mumbled, all hope of getting rid of the feelings draining from his mind and body.

She opened her mouth to answer but before she could, Macao's voice interrupted her. "Hey Mira! Could you get me another beer?" Turning toward the man, she simply nodded her head and told him it would be just one second. Then she turned back to Natsu. Opening her mouth, she uttered one word before she swiftly walked away to retrieve that beer for Macao.

"Love."

The next day, Natsu woke up even later than usual. He had stayed up especially late contemplating what Mira had said the day before. Natsu thought he would be prepared for anything that could've been said to explain what was happening to him but as it turns out, there had been something he wasn't prepared for. He would've been okay had Mira said it was some kind of weird sickness or if it was just his body's way of dealing with stress. After all, right before he started noticing the feelings, it was around July 7th and he had been very stressed by some dreams he repeatedly had about Igneel. He always had a little trouble around that time of year but it had been especially worse this time around. He could've dealt with it even if Mira had said they were the symptoms of a fatal disease that would kill him later that day, But he never expected the explanation she had given him.

Love. The word flew through his mind as he tried to make sense of it. He was dense but he had immediately known what kind of love Mira was talking about. He knew she didn't mean the kind of friendly love he had for everyone else at Fairy Tail or the love he had for Igneel as family. No, even his dense mind understood she meant the love you feel for someone you want to marry and spend your life with.

As much as he tried to fight it in hopes he could find a different explanation, as time wore on, he found there was no other explanation. He didn't want to love someone like that. He knew that it didn't work out too happily for a lot of people and he didn't want that to happen to him but as he thought, he became less against it. After all it was Lucy, the girl who had brightened his life so much in so little time. He would give his life for hers in a heartbeat. No second thoughts or regrets. So even if it didn't work out for them, maybe that would be okay because at least they tried to give their all and at least they tried to make it work. As long as she was happy, it didn't matter to him. He would survive just as he had when he was lost in the forest before meeting Igneel, just as he had when Igneel had disappeared, and just as he did when Lisanna died.

By late afternoon that day, he had come to a conclusion. Yes, he was in love with Lucy. Yes, he had accepted. Yes, he would learn to live with it. No, he would not tell her. At least not yet. He knew it wouldn't be smart to try to act on it as soon as he had come to terms with it. He needed time to get used to it. He had felt it plenty of times but he had fought it every time in hopes it would go away. Now he wouldn't need to. He would still hold it back but he wouldn't fight it. He would let it grow.

Maybe in a few months he would tell her. Maybe she would feel the same and it would work out perfectly. Maybe not. Perhaps he would tell her and she would run away, not wanting that in her life. But he would think about that when the time came.

He spent another hour in his little house after he came to his conclusion, just spinning it around in his head again for extra confidence in his plan. When that hour was up, he figured he might as well spend the last few hours of the day messing around at the guild. Happy had gone to the guild on his own hours ago soon after he had woken up so the walk there for Natsu was quiet. He spent it finishing his last mental preparations.

When he reached the guild doors, a large smile formed on his face and he slammed the doors open, yelling out the announcement of his arrival. He quickly spotted Lucy and walked over to her. As he walked, he felt the warmth invading his systems and the smile on his face became just a bit more real. He also noticed the fluttering in his stomach. Laughing at himself, he realized just how dense he was. All these signs should have been obvious yet he was only noticing them and connecting them after he was told the reason. Mira's words probably shouldn't have surprised him as much as they did.

Months had passed since Natsu had asked Mira the reason for his feelings and since then, his love for Lucy had only grown even bigger. He had quickly learned ways to hide his feelings for her and reactions to her better but he never stopped them from invading his own consciousness. Nowadays he had found himself dreaming about her, thinking about her, and unintentionally staring at her more and more. He knew he had to tell her how he felt about her soon. He could feel himself going crazy from concealing his feelings so well all this time. Of course word had spread and everyone but Lucy herself knew his feelings for her. They were all surprised at how well he hid his feelings. Sometimes he hid it so well, they even questioned if it was actually even real at all. But then they would catch a glimpse of him slipping up and it would all become clear again. That's what Natsu knew.

What he didn't know was that Lucy felt the exact same way and the rest of the guild knew that as well. The only diference between the guild knowing of Natsu's feelings and them knowing Lucy's was that they never questioned Lucy's. She did not hide it very well as much as she hated admitting that. Of course the guild purposely set them up in romantic situations but they never directly told either one of them about the other's feelings. They had to do it on their own and they knew it would happen eventually.

Anyway, Natsu had been contemplating telling Lucy of her feelings for around a month at this point though he had not managed to gather enough courage to actually do it yet. There had been times he came extremely close and thinking about those times got him frustrated because he had been so close but had bailed out.

He was lying in his bed, it being about an hour after her woke up fairly early in the morning, and was thinking over his plan to tell Lucy later that day. After he came so close to telling her the day before, even getting out the first word of his simple yet effective, "I love you," he had been determined to tell her so he had rushed back to his house and spent the rest of the day working up his courage. He stayed up late into the night and woke up early in the day. He knew he needed all the courage he could get. So he spent hours working up his courage and confidence. If he managed to get into a panic over telling her, he went outside his house a little bit away from his house and burned it away with some training. He found this released some stress and gave him some confidence too so he found it worth it. The rest of the time was spent inside talking his courage up. He imagined the best case scenarios and prepared for the worst case scenarios. He had meant to leave his house by late afternoon but the hours passed by quicker than he had expected and his courage has risen slower than expected.

By the time he had all the confidence he believed he could get, it was hours into the night and he knew Lucy would be long asleep. Knowing she would be mad if he woke her up now but also knowing his courage would drain away with time, he was fighting himself trying to decide what to do. He spent a long time going over the pros and cons of both options, he decided he could wait until morning the next day. So he settled himself down in his bed and prepared for sleep but it never came. Time passed slowly and just over an hour later, he was still awake.

Sitting up in bed he sighed and stood up. If Lucy was mad at him for waking her up so late, so be it. He had to get this out now that his courage was up. Otherwise it would be a long time more before he could gather this much courage again. Half walking, half running to her house, he made his way quickly as to save time. He arrived fairly quickly and safely entered through her window.

Walking up to her bed, he watched her as she slept for a few minutes. He studied the cute face she had as she slept and he studied her body as it moved up and down with her breathing. As he watched her, he could feel the love flowing through his veins, clouding his thoughts.

He eventually snapped out of his trance and sighed, knowing the truth will be out in mere minutes and his whole life could change in either a terrible way or fantastic way with it. Lightly shaking her, he said her name. "Lucy wake up. I need to talk to you." His heart was beating faster than he could imagine and he felt shaky. He could hear the unsteadiness in his voice. "Lucy."

Groaning, the girl lifted her hands and rubbed her eyes. "Natsu?" He simply nodded his head. It was obvious she could tell something was bothering him because the light was suddenly on and she was sitting up, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at him. "What's wrong?"

Giving her a weak smile, he sat down next to her on the bed. "I need to talk to you about something."

'Okay, what is it?"

"This is taking a lot of courage for me to say so please don't interrupt until I'm done okay?" She simply nodded so Natsu took that as his cue to continue. Taking a deep breath with his eyes closed, he gathered some last minute courage. Opening his eyes he launched into his confession before he could back out. "Lucy, for a long time now, I've been having weird feelings around you. At first I didn't know what it was and it was bothering me so a few months ago, I talked to Mira about it. I knew I needed to mention it to someone before it drove me crazy. I told her about how being around you made me all happy and warm inside and how touching you sent a jolt of electricity through me that somehow felt good. I told her about how I just always wanted to hug and hold you and how another guy giving you even the smallest glance made anger build up inside me. How it took everything I had to keep myself from punching them and starting a fight. In the end before she walked away to get Macao another beer, she gave me a single word to explain it all. I spent the rest of that day and almost all of the next day repeating this word over and over and trying to figure out if what she said was true. It took forever to come to terms with it but by the end of the day, I had realized that it was true. That I was just too blind and dense to see that. I spent the last few hours of that day at the guild hall with you which only confirmed it even more. From then on, it has only become more and more true. Everyone in the guild knows this and I know they've always wanted me to just say it but they never forced me, obviously. They've given me all the time I've needed and even now, months after that conversation with Mira, I'm only just now gaining the courage to say this. Lucy, you are my best friend and you mean so much to me. I don't know how I ever lived without you and I know I certainly couldn't do it without you now. And what I'm about to say could completely change your views on me. It might scare you away as much as I'm hoping that won't happen. But the time has come and I need to say it. That single word Mira said was love and it's led me to this realization, Luce. I love you with all my heart and no matter your reaction, that will never change."

Taking a deep breath, he slowly lifted his head from the bed they had dropped to. When he saw her face, hope exploded inside him. She had on her brightest, happiest smile. "Oh Natsu. I can see why they urged you to just tell me." Confusion shot through him but before he could even open his mouth, her lips smashed into his. Quickly melting into the kiss, he pulled her closer. He felt her arms wrap around his neck as her hands ran through his hair. As they pulled away from the kiss, she whispered four words that caused probably the largest grin Natsu had ever made invade his face. "I love you too."

Pulling her in for another kiss, a happiness larger than any he had experienced before rushed through him. The rest of the night went quickly and easily. After around an hour of talking, kissing, and cuddling, they fell asleep together with his arms around her and a huge grin on his face.

Let's just say the next day was a celebration for the whole guild when they found out the two had finally confessed.

 **3,989 words! This took** ** _forever_** **to write but I spent so much time writing then deleting, writing then deleting, writing and deleting other ideas for shorts plus it's been a week since my last update so it's worth it. It's currently 10:44pm and I started writing this around probably 4(Though like an hour or so was completely forgetting about writing because** ** _distracting phone_** **) so yeah. Hope you enjoyed this long one-shot after my week of** ** _breaking promises._**


	11. 11: Unexpected

Natsu was the one who always got up first. He was the one who always managed to throw in one more punch when his friends needed it. He was always the one who pushed himself up when everyone thought it was impossible. He always came out okay. Letting injuries get the best of him just wasn't who he was. Everyone had started to expect his unexpected recoveries. So when they were faced with a new enemy, a new war, and a new fight, they expected injuries and they expected sacrifices but they didn't expect him to give in to his injuries.

It happened quickly, almost too quickly. It was just him and Lucy against the leader of the attack. Lucy's magic was draining fast, both of them were covered in injuries, and they were losing the upper hand they had managed to get at the beginning of the battle.

One by one, the three Celestial Spirits Lucy had summoned left as her magic drained from her. Little by little, Natsu's flames were decreasing in effectiveness. Hit by hit, their enemy was getting closer to victory. It was once Lucy's magic power had drained and she was left with her whip alone to protect herself. It was once Natsu was left struggling to catch his breath as another attack was thrown at him.

One second the two of them were fighting with everything they had to offer and the next, there was a flash of black mixed with dark purple. It left Lucy confused. It hadn't seemed to hurt her in any way but there surely wasn't any way it was anything other than an attack. It had seemed to fill the whole room and surround her but she was fine. It was only when she really looked around that she noticed what it had done.

Natsu was kneeling down on one knee in the rubble, clutching his chest where his heart was. His breathing was sharp, ragged, and quick. His body was visibly shaking and a huge gash had been created along his abdomen. He had his eyes closed, trying to get himself to focus on the fight instead of the pain that was overwhelming him. Lucy could tell that even kneeling was a huge effort for him. It was the worst she had ever seen him and she had seen him in some pretty terrible conditions.

With each passing millisecond, she watched as the shaking increased, his breathing got worse, the bleeding from the gash continued, and his fist tightened as it stayed resting against his chest. She didn't know how long he would be able to stay like that. It would only be a matter of time before he lost the ability to even kneel as he was.

Knowing she didn't have the time to continue watching him, she turned to the cause of it, who was just darkly chuckling. It angered her knowing he was enjoying Natsu's pain so much. Her eyes darkened as she watched him some more. Her eyes were locked on him just as his eyes were locked on Natsu and Natsu's were locked in darkness. Finally, she had enough of just watching him. "Hey! Look at me you monster!" she yelled. When his gaze transferred from Natsu to her, she could feel the anger still growing inside her. "Stop laughing at his pain and fight me! You don't deserve the luxury of seeing what amuses you! Especially if it's something as cruel as someone in unimaginable pain!"

His laughter simply grew at this and she saw the dark purple grow around his hand. "Girl, you don't know your place. You have no chance against me. Your friend here is immensely more powerful than you and well, you see what I've effortlessly done to him. I could disintegrate your very existence with the flick of my wrist," he growled, his voice dark yet laced with laughter.

"How about you prove that then and fight me!"

"Gladly."

Before either of them could attack the other, however, Natsu's low, pained voice broke in. "L-Lucy..." The blonde mage quickly turned to look at him. He was now on both knees, his arms struggling to stay locked, causing his body fall and rise as they unlocked, locked, unlocked, and repeated. "Lucy, I..." He stopped as another flash of pain shot through him. "Tell th-the g-guild I love them a-all."

"No! You can tell them yourself Natsu! You're going to be okay!"

He weakly shook his head. "I-I know that's w-what we both want b-but I can't..." He stopped as he took in a desperate breath. "Can't be sure."

"Hope's all you need! You can make it!" she screamed desperately.

"O-one more thing, Luce. I should've t-told y-you this a long time ago..." A cough interrupted him. The cough brought up a little blood that trickled out of his mouth and down to the rubble beneath him. And once again, he took in a painful breath. "I n-need to tell you. Luce, I-"

"Enough of this crap! It's my time to kill you both!"

Before the man could do anything to put Lucy in danger, Natsu jumped up with the last of his already nearly gone strength. With some last magical power, he thrust himself at the enemy as flames lit up around him. "No! Don't touch her!" Despite Natsu being near death, the attack hit the man hard and left him hurtling back, flames still dancing around him. Both males fell at the same time.

The man hit the floor on his back, the air escaping him as he did. Natsu, however, fell forward. As he hit the ground, he knew that attack had done him in pretty well. he had used up all his strength in that one attack. Lucy had quickly run over to him, flipping him over onto his back so she could look at his face. "Natsu!"

"L-Luce...I...P-please k-know I l-love you with e-ev-ery f-fiber of my b-being. You're m-my e-every-thing. Never f-forget t-that..." After this confession, his lungs had lost most of the air within them and he was left gasping for breath, his body tensing with each breath that brought less air than the last.

At this point, tears were streaming down Lucy's face and she clung tightly onto the dying boy. "I love you too Natsu! I always will! I promise you!"

At this, a weak smile formed on his lips and he put everything he had to bring on arm up to her face. Cupping her cheek, he wiped away all the tears he could manage. She grabbed his wrist as he did so. The two simply stared at each other, enjoying the other while they still could, until Natsu was sent into a coughing fit. More blood flew out of his mouth and when the fit was over, he clutched his stomach as pain took over all his senses and thoughts. The pain was overwhelming and as it continued on, his vision became blurry until it started fading to black altogether. His body shook worse than it had ever before and his breathing came to a near halt. Natsu could feel his consciousness fading as the blinding pain persisted but he fought it. Lucy needed him. He couldn't let her down. So he held on. He did his best to focus on the faint feeling of her holding his hand.

Eventually, the rest of his senses began to weaken as well. Sounds became muffled and he couldn't make out what noises came from where and what they were. Smells faded to nothing until even with his heightened sense of smell didn't pick anything up. He realized he couldn't even taste his blood anymore. Finally, he noticed that he couldn't feel things. He no longer felt like he was laying on rubble. He was just laying. He couldn't feel his hair sticking to his forehead with sweat and worst of all, he couldn't feel Lucy's hand against his. With his loss of feeling, came a change in the pain. With no better words to describe it, to him it felt like the pain had been glazed over so it wasn't as sharp. It still hurt just as much though.

After he lost his senses, he couldn't do anything. The slightest movement sent torturous amounts of pain through him and he was losing all thoughts. Lucy was what he tried to think about but even she was losing to the pain.

 _Lucy. Her smile. Her laugh. Pain. Oh the pain. No, Lucy. Lucy. Her blonde hair. Her beaut- pain. This pain. Worst pain. Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia. Pain. Pain. Pink guild mark. Pain. More pain. Pain. On her hand. This pain. Loves her Celest- pain. Pain. It's agonizing. Can't focus. Pain. Too much._

It went on like this for Natsu for what felt like eternity but when he felt a hand against his, hope struck up a little bit. Maybe it was fading. And he was right. It did fade eventually. Slowly but surely, the pain dulled and he regained his senses. His sight came back first. His black vision slowly lightened up and once he could see basic shapes again, it slowly became less and less blurry. He could see the rubble beside him clearly at first and then after that, he saw her beautiful face. If he had the strength to smile, he would have. As this was happening, his hearing also came back as well. When he first heard the noises again, they were just a blur of sounds that didn't make any sense. Then he realized there were muffled voices and crashing. He focused his hearing on the voices, trying to make them out. It took him a while but he finally realized the one that sounded closest to him was actually Lucy and she was mumbling his name. He didn't bother to trying to figure out the rest. After his sight and hearing had returned, his taste came next. This one came quickly. One second he couldn't taste anything and then within the next five seconds, he could clearly taste the metallic blood. Fourthly came feeling. The sensation of the rubble digging into his back, the wetness of the sweat holding his hair against his forehead, and Lucy's hand, they all came back. Lastly, was smell. Her scent slowly invaded his nose.

With all his senses back and the pain continuously dulling, he felt much better though he was still undoubtedly weak. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get his muscles to listen to what his brain told him. He was physically exhausted, unable to do much more than breathe. As he laid there, he kept his eyes on hers and watched. He watched her tears falling. He watched and felt as she squeezed his hand. He watched as she kept glancing behind her to see what was happening. He watched as her eyes finally looked at his. The smile he saw invade her face after this made him happy and he wished he had enough strength to at least smile back at her.

"Lucy! Watch out!" As suddenly as the smile appeared, it left. Erza's warning made her turn around and before Natsu knew it, she was on her feet and pulling him way. It was hard for her and he cursed himself for not being able to help her help him but soon they were out of that room. When she let him go and his arms flopped pathetically against his body, she fell to the ground breathing hard.

A sharp pain shot through him and his muscles finally reacted to something as his shoulders shot forward in a cough which led into more and more. Of course more blood made an appearance. When the coughing fit subsided, Natsu decided to try his luck at moving his muscles at his own accord.

When he felt his thumb twitch, he took it as a good sign so he kept trying and soon his arm had reached up to touch her face gently. A small smile somehow found its way onto his face.

"Natsu..."

"L-Luce...Remember, I...love you." As he got that sentence out, Natsu knew it was going to be the last. With the ability to move his muscles again came his energy draining even faster. His consciousness was fading fast and he knew once it did, it wasn't coming back.

Without saying another word, her lips crashed against his, her tears in the mix as well. It was desperate and sloppy but it was the only one they had ever shared and it would be the last so that didn't matter to either of them. As they pulled away, their eyes locked and Natsu gently squeezed her hand. His eyes were feeling heavy at this point. It was a fight against time. She could tell he was fighting to stay conscious so her grip on his hand tightened and she watched him intensely, the tears streaming down her face only increasing.

With all his strength, he gave her his signature grin and then let his eyes close. Fairy Tail had lost the one who always got up.

 **New update! Today I made it kinda sad. I don't know how that happened. I honestly meant for it to be happy but then war and death happened. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed!**


	12. 12: Never Before

Lucy's house was deathly silent. All sound had faded away the second he had stepped out of the house and slammed the door, leaving her shocked and alone. He hadn't even used the window like he usually did. He had left too angry to even think of his usual childish antics. But that wasn't what shocked Lucy. In all the years she had known him, they had never once had a fight like that. They had never had a screaming match ending in slamming doors and broken hearts. They had never gotten to each other's throats like that. They had never disturbed and scared people passing by on the streets with yelling before. They had never left each other with cold hearts and panicking minds. That was what shocked Lucy. She had seen him with that amount of anger before. That wasn't what shocked her. It was that he had never been that mad at her. She's seen his eyes burn with that pure rage before but it had always been directed at someone else with her standing by him, supporting him and helping him. What shocked her was how mad she had gotten at him. She never got truly mad at him. She got annoyed a lot but she never got mad. Until that night. She could still feel the rage boiling her blood.

It scared her how differently they had both been acting. It was like they were finally getting fed up with each other. Like they were finally realizing they didn't need each other and everything about the other just pissed them off. That thought terrified her. What if he had decided he'd had enough of her and this fight would be the final straw pushing him to leave her for good. What if the slamming door that shook the foundations of this house was the signature on a goodbye note?

These thoughts raced through the blonde's mind as she continued to stand in the exact same place and position she was when he first stormed out. Her mind was alive with worries and fears that she believed might be coming true. As time passed, the shock slowly faded away but the thoughts remained. She slowly started regaining consciousness of what was going on around her but the fears still taunted her heart. Looking around the room, the colors all around her seemed wrong. After all, how could anything be so bright at a time like this? Everything seemed wrong and out of place.

With her mind still racing, Lucy trudged to the kitchen and made some tea at the very slow rate she could manage. Once the tea was in her hands and she was sipping at it, her mind started to clear up. She had more ability to push away the bad thoughts and fears. Instead, she thought up all the good scenarios. That this was just a one time thing. That they were both simply stressed and ended up taking it out on each other. That it was bound to happen sometime. No relationship is perfect. As these positive thoughts started filling her mind, she could feel herself relax a bit though still not much as the fact of the matter was she still had yet to make up with Natsu. With the clock ticking on, Lucy laid on her bed after finishing her tea and thought over the situation, her eyes getting heavier with every tick and tock of the clock.

Shooting awake, Lucy looked at the clock and groaned when she saw it was only 2 in the morning, The fight had stuck to her like a fly to a fly catcher which caused her to have a dream replaying the events of the night. Already wide awake, Lucy knew more sleep wasn't an option so she settled or reanalyzing the fight. She reviewed every detail she could remember and thought about them until her brain hurt.

Just under a half hour had passed when the blonde heard a loud knock against her door. Jumping in fright, she nearly fell off her bed before putting her hand to her chest and taking deep breaths to calm down. It was only when she heard another knock, louder this time, that she got up. Wondering who could be knocking at this unearthly hour and why they would be knocking at such an unearthly hour, she made her way to the front door.

"Please open up Luce. We need to talk."

At the sound of his voice, Lucy swung open the door. The last four words would've made her hesitate because in every girl's mind, those are terrible words to hear but his words had stopped mattering after the first two words. All that mattered was he had come back. The words only clicked in her brain when the door was wide open and they were staring at each other.

She didn't have much time to react to her realization, however, because just a second later, the pink-haired boy in front of her threw his arms around her. "Lucy! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have gotten so mad! I should've listened to you! I should've just agreed with you! Honestly this fight has been tearing me apart! I don't wanna lose you Luce. I don't wanna live without you just because of this one stupid fight I can't even remember the cause of. Please forgive me Luce."

A huge grin appeared on Lucy's face as he said this and she quickly wrapped her arms around him. "It's okay Natsu! I'm sorry too. We both made mistakes and it's tearing me up too so please let's just forget this happened and move on, okay?" At this point, she just wanted him to hold her like he had done so many time before.

"Are you sure Lucy? You're not mad?"

Shaking her head, she gave the boy a large grin. "Of course I am."

At this, Natsu's signature grin made an appearance and he stepped into the house, closing the door behind him. "Sweet! I missed you so much, Luce."

"I missed you too. Now to bed and cuddle me!" the blonde said as she grabbed his wrist and starting running to her room.

That night, they cuddled like never before and after that fight, they felt like they were in heaven.

 **I feel like I kinda rushed this one, especially toward the end, but I just really wanted to write yet at the same time, I didn't so it ended up as some rushed but completed piece. Plus, I still have some making up to do for my week long vacation. So here's your update for today! Hope you enjoyed it!**


	13. 13: A Promise and a Vow

"Hey. It's been a while, hasn't it? I've been on a job with Erza and Gray for a while. It was far from here so I couldn't visit you like I have been for the past few months since..." The words trailed off as the pink-haired boy's voice wavered. A moment's pause to regain his composure and he went right back to talking. "Remember when we first met? I saved you from that Bora guy and brought you back to Fairy Tail with me. Back then I couldn't even bother to remember your name. You got so angry when I called you Luigi." A small laugh escaped the boy's lips. "But don't worry. I remember your name now, Lucy."

Glancing away from the small tombstone to look straight down at his hands, he realized his hands still held on tightly to the bouquet of pink roses. With the most care he had probably ever had, he wiped away the fallen leaves from her grave and set the roses down in their place. "I got you some flowers. I know you loved the color pink so I paid special attention while I was buying them. I had to get you the best flowers available. It wouldn't have felt good enough if I had gotten anything less than this dozen. You deserve the best. You always have."

Tears threatening to spill, he paused and took a deep breath. When the tears refused to go away, he decided it wasn't worth the fight anyway so after another deep breath, he continued on. "I didn't come here to just talk like usual though. I need to say some things. I should've said them a long time ago, before this stone and pile of dirt became the closest thing I have to talk to you." A small pause followed. Natsu had realized all the birds had stopped singing, almost as if they were listening to him and telling him the whole world was grieving still grieving. So he continued. "I never got the chance to say this out loud despite the countless times I thought it and now I regret never taking the chance. So here it is, Lucy. I love you." His voice cracked and the first tears slid down his cheeks as he said it. "I love you with all my heart and I will never get over you. I can promise you that. My heart beats for you and my blood flows for you. Before...Before you left, I promised you I would continue living. I would continue grinning my grin you said you loved so much. That no matter how hard it got sometimes, I would never give up. For you. And I knew it would be hard but I was not prepared for this. I promised you and I swear I'm trying but it's so hard, Lucy. You were my light. You were my happiness. But now you're gone and I don't know how to smile when I can't find a different source of light or even see the light you left behind. Everyone else is too. They all act tough around me because they feel they need to for me to ever move on. But I see the sadness in their eyes and I catch the cracks in their voice they cover up with a fake cough or something. But it's useless anyway because I'm never going to move on. Maybe someday I'll stop shutting down at the very mention of your name and maybe one day I'll smile like I did before effortlessly but it won't be because I've moved on. It'll be because I've learned to live with the pain and I'm living properly for you."

By this point, Natsu was holding back sobs as tears cascaded down his face and he could feel the bandages he put around his heart slip off. The strength it was taking to hold in the sobs caused his body to shake violently. The air was thick, filled to the brim with misery and longing. Natsu was surprised he could even breath with how thick and heavy everything around him felt.

"We all miss you Lucy. I know it. But none of them miss you like I do. They don't feel the same amount of pain as me. They're all moving on fairly well. They're starting to smile and laugh like normal. But I'm still as lost as I was that first day. I'm trying to find myself again so I can keep my promise and I know one day I will find myself again but each day it's still getting harder and harder. I haven't reached the turning point that marks the turn around, that shows the beginning of recovery. I don't know if I can make it to that day. I don't know if I have the strength to hold on. Please Luce. Please lend me some strength. You have so much and I need your help."

As minutes passed, the tears only fell harder and before he knew it, he couldn't hold anything back anymore. Sobs caused his shoulders to thrust forward and his normally unusually high body temperature had dropped and he felt cold as ice. He knew he couldn't possibly hold back any shred of sadness and regret back anymore. So with his begging done, he let the makeshift supports he had built come crashing down, bringing his world with it. The real ones had crumbled to dust blown away by the wind the minute Lucy had left. He had been quick to keep his tears back and build weak ones but now those were failing as well.

An hour had passed by the time the tears slowed, the shaking had dulled, and the sobs halted. Of course a few stray tears still fell but he had sobbed his pain away. Even if it was temporary. His throat was sore because of how much he had cried in the hour but he was still far from done. So he ignored the stabs of pain that shot through his throat when he swallowed or talked.

"I've spent enough time on me though. I'm done crying now. It's about time I start focusing on you." A weak smile appeared on his face as he said this. "Happy birthday Lucy. You're 25 today. It's hard to believe it's such a young age yet you're spending it surrounded by dirt. I wish we could spend it together. We'd go out to eat and spend all day together. We'd do whatever you felt like doing and we'd have the best time ever. Maybe we'd be having a birthday party at the guild with everyone. We'd all be smiling and laughing. I'd love to hear your laugh again." The smile that had grown with each sentence had now faded with a sigh. "But now that can only happen in my dreams. I've made choices in my life but there are none I regret more than not taking that job as seriously as I should have. I still remember your warning voice and nervous laugh as I made fooled around. Those are sounds I'll probably never forget. Although, of course I'll never forget them. I'll never forget anything about you. You deserve being remembered forever and even if it's the last thing I do, I'll make sure the world knows your name and your story. It will know the story of Lucy of Fairy Tail, the girl who was once Lucky Lucy Heartfilia but gave that up for freedom and adventure, for happiness and friends. The girl who loved and cared so strongly for others and who was loved and cared for so fiercely by others."

The wind had softened and Natsu felt warmer, both inside and out. He knew his sobbing session had done him well and so had talking to Lucy about herself. So he continued.

"I'm going to hold on to your memory forever. I'm going to remember walking hand in hand with you. I'm going to remember your comforting chocolate brown eyes and your captivating smile. I'm going to remember your determination and unwavering care for your friends. I'm going to remember the times you've made anyone smile and I'm even going to remember the times you got so angry, it was just as bad as an angry Erza. I'm going to remember the happiness in your voice when we first met and you were telling me all about the wizard world before you knew I was one and the joy in it when Mira first put your mark on your hand. I'm going to remember every time you yelled at me and Lucy kicked me. You're not going to be forgotten. You're going to live on in spirit and in memory."

Natsu paused for a minute to savor the moment. He was making not just a promise but a vow and he intended to remember every word of it. It would only make it all the more true.

"I'd do anything to see the little piece of heaven you were again but since that's impossible, I'm going to do the next best thing. Keep that little piece of heaven in my heart, mind, and soul where it will live on as the symbol of the best days of my life." Finally glancing away from the tombstone, Natsu realized the sun was setting. He knew he should leave soon so with a sigh, he turned back to the stone. "That is a vow, Lucy. I'm going to keep my promise to you and keep fighting to get my smile back but I'm not going to leave it at just that anymore. Now, I must be going. Everyone back at the guild are probably getting worried. I told them I'd try to be no more than an hour but it's been way past that."

Standing up and turning away, Natsu wished time could have slowed down so he could have just a little while longer with her but since that wasn't happening, he simply gave the tombstone one last glance.

"I'll see you later, okay, Luce? See ya." And then he walked away, a little bit more prepared for the struggle ahead.

 **And there we go! Today's one-shot. This was inspired by** ** _Hey Lucy_** **, a song by Skillet. I found it yesterday and it was simply the perfect inspiration for a one-shot. So here it is! Hope you enjoyed!**


	14. 14: Beautiful

**beau·ti·ful**

ˈbyo͞odəfəl/

 _adjective_

1\. Pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically.

2\. Of a very high standard; excellent

The definition of "beautiful" is hard to set in stone. While the dictionary gives it a basic definition, most people would agree it doesn't show the full extent of what the word is to many. While beautiful does mean something pleasing or of high standard, the definition seems too dull to help understand it. Being beautiful is what everyone wants for themselves, whether that be physically, mentally, or spiritually. It's a word people long to be called. It's the word used to describe the best. It's evolved to so much more than just the dictionary definition.

Everybody has something in their life they would describe as beautiful. To some it might be a song that gets their emotions flowing or a painting that conveys its artists emotions perfectly. It could be a dance they saw that looked so perfect in their eyes, it captured their heart. Maybe to some people it's nature as a whole, constantly growing, changing, and evolving. To others it's the friends they've made, the ones they would kill or be killed for, and the family they grew up with. Beautiful can be a lot of things. It comes in countless shapes, colors, sizes, and forms. It has endless definitions.

To Natsu, the definition of beautiful came in the form of a girl. Beautiful was her silky blonde hair and gorgeous chocolate eyes. It was her curvaceous figure and plump, perfect lips. Her fiery temper that could kick in at any moment along with the amount of love and care she held within her made even beautiful seem weak. Her smooth, baby butt soft skin also fit the bill. Beautiful was the only word he could think of to describe the sound of her voice and laugh. Nothing was beautiful like her. Every tiny detail of the girl was perfect to him. She was his everything.

From the moment he'd laid eyes on her, he'd known something was different about her. It's why he couldn't resist bringing her back to the guild after knowing her for less than a day. It's why he broke into her house just to be around her scent no matter how many times she yelled at him. It's why when she was in danger, he'd do everything he could to save her. It's why he did most of what he did.

It wasn't long after he'd met her that he realized her true beauty and it wasn't much longer that he realized he loved her with all his mind and body. She quickly became his everything. He held her more dear than anything else. Everyone and everything else was nothing compared to her. It took him a long time to truly accept that but once he did, he knew he couldn't keep it a secret from her forever. She was too beautiful to lie to.

So when he found himself starting to slip up, it was obvious the secret would come out soon whether he was ready or not. More slip ups, hints, and clues started popping up. Sometimes he would come close to telling her he loved her or he would start reaching for her hand before realization hit him. He would get lost in her eyes and scramble for an acceptable explanation when she noticed it. There was so many ways he messed up and each time it happened, the truth became clearer and clearer in her eyes. It was only a matter of time before she put the clues together and starting suspecting something.

He couldn't let her find out on her own. He wanted, maybe even _needed_ , to tell her himself. Soon. That's how he found himself sitting in a chair in her house as she waited for him to explain why he was so nervous and his face was bright red with embarrassment.

"So?" she asked. "Are you going to tell me or not?" Her patience had worn thin after twenty minutes consisting of silence and his awkward shuffling around and changing position.

"Y-yeah, I will."

"Now would be great."

His face somehow growing even redder, he nodded his head. "R-right." Taking a deep breath, he settled in his chair, one leg bent up so his foot rested on the seat, the other dangling over the edge, and both his hands nervously fiddling with each other. "It's just...well...For quite a while now I've...I...I realized..."

"For Mavis' sake Natsu! Spit it out!"

"Lucy I'm in love with you!" The words spilled from his mouth like water from an overflowing sink. They slipped out before he had time to stop them, before he had time to realize what they were and what they meant. Scared of her reaction, he kept his gaze locked firmly on his hands in his lap. He expected _something_ , yelling or a quiet shocked voice asking for confirmation that she heard what she thought she heard or something so when his ears were met with silence, time nearly stopped. The silence dragged on and the longer it stayed, the harder it became for Natsu to keep his eyes cast down. It was a fight against himself and time.

And sure enough, the half willing his eyes to stay down lost. His gaze slowly and gradually climbed higher as his nervousness grew. The first thing he saw were her feet on the floor in front of her bed. They were resting flat against the floor though Natsu could tell there was no weight on them and they were resting lightly on the ground. As his eyes trailed further up, he noticed the stiffness or her body as she sat on her bed, causing his anxiousness to only get bigger. The last thing he saw was her face. The only emotion showing on her face, besides from the embarrassment the redness of it revealed, was shock, pure shock. Her mouth was hanging open and her eyes were wide. She was staring straight ahead of her at the wall.

"Lucy?" he said quietly. At the noise, her mouth slowly closed as her head inched toward him. When she had finally turned completely his way, the shock had faded leaving worry in its place. "Are you okay?"

Nodding her head, she stood up and took a step toward him. "Is it true? Is what you said true?"

The question shocked Natsu. Why would she think he lied? Does she not believe him? Does she think he's a liar? Questions burned in his mind but he pushed them away to focus on the question that had brought them in the first place. "Of course it's true Luce. Why would I lie?"

With these words, a giant smile etched itself onto her face and she suddenly wasn't where she had been just a moment before. Instead, she was hugging Natsu where he sat, her knee between his legs to hold her up, face buried on his shoulder, and arms wrapped around his body. The foot Natsu had resting on the seat had now fallen to the floor.

After a moment's shock, a smile found its way onto Natsu's face as well and he was quick to wrap his arms around her as she had done to him. The hug had lasted a long time, reaching just over three minutes before Lucy pulled away.

"Natsu, I have something to tell you," Lucy whispered, the smile now gone.

Confusion was evident on Natsu's face as he nodded his head. "Okay, what is it?"

Leaning close to him, her mouth ended up right next to his ear. "I love you too," she confessed before pulling her head away from him to see his reaction.

It took a minute for Natsu to register the words but the second the meaning of them became clear, a smile even larger than the previous one formed and before he could think about it, he crashed his lips onto hers.

He was incredibly thankful when she didn't pull away or even stiffen up at the action. Instead she simply but wonderfully kissed back. When they pulled away, Natsu's breath was taken away as he saw her smiling lips. When their eyes locked, they both knew they had the best thing they could ever obtain.

The love of someone beautiful.

 **Hey guys! Sorry I didn't upload yesterday. I had a band pre-festival so I was busy. I wanted to write a super long one to make up for it but I just don't have the inspiration right now. So this 1, 387 word one-shot will have to do. Hope you enjoyed it!**


	15. 15: Really Don't Care

I could feel the anger rising up inside me at the sight of him, my ex-boyfriend. My friends beside me could tell something was wrong because one minute I was smiling and laughing while the next I was seething with anger, just trying to keep my cool while we're in public. Levy, who was closest to me, grabbed my arm and slowed her pace so we were falling behind the others. When the others noticed and looked back, she gave them the signal to just keep going. "What's wrong, Lu?"

Sighing, I point toward the cause of my rage. "I'm angry." Following my finger, her eyes widen at the sight of the boy.

"That jerk."

Scoffing, I shake my head. "He's more than a jerk. He played with my feelings until I was broken."

"Still."

"Maybe I should've known he was like that. All the red flags are so obvious now."

"That still doesn't give him the right to do what he did."

"I guess."

 _You wanna play, you wanna stay, you wanna have it all_

 _You started messing with my head until I hit a wall_

 _Maybe I should've known, maybe I should've known_

 _That you would walk, you would walk out the door, hey!_

Looking back at the boy, a small smile forms on my face. "At least I got some revenge with that girl."

Lauhging, Levy nods her head. "Yeah, that sure got him good."

"You bet it did. He should've known that part. _He_ should've realized I wasn't going to let him off so easily," I state. "I still wish I could get more revenge though."

"We all do, Lu. What he did was terrible and he deserves feeling just as bad as you did plus some."

 _Said we were done, then met someone and rubbed it in my face_

 _Cut to the part, she broke your heart, and then she ran away_

 _I guess you should've known, I guess you should've known_

 _That I would talk, I would talk_

"Yeah, true. It's a good thing the only thing I feel for him now is anger. If I still had those other feelings for him, it just simply wouldn't work out for anyone except him."

"Ugh, no kidding. Let's not even think about that. What matters is that you don't care about him anymore."

"Okay, Lev."

 _But even if the stars and moon collide_

 _I never want you back into my life_

 _You can take your words and all your lies_

 _Oh, oh, oh, I really don't care_

 _Even if the stars and moon collide_

 _I never want you back into my life_

 _You can take your words and all your lies_

 _Oh, oh, oh, I really don't care_

 _Oh, oh, oh, I really don't care_

"I can't believe I ever used to stay up writing about him."

"Let's be honest, Lucy. All those ones aren't your best anyway," she says.

Giggling, I nod. "I know. All those mushy ones about him really sucked ass."

"A lot of it," she adds, causing us to both burst out laughing. A few people look at us with weird faces but that doesn't matter so we keep laughing.

 _I can't believe I ever stayed up writing songs about you_

 _You don't deserve to know the way I used to think about you_

 _Oh no not anymore, oh no not anymore_

 _You had your shot, had your shot, but you let go_

As an idea pops up in my mind, I stop laughing and instead smile evilly. "Hey Lev, I think I have an idea to get some more revenge, even if it's a tiny amount."

"What would that be?" she asks curiously.

"Well I just wanna go up to him and put my fingers in the air. Show him that I don't need him and I've moved on," I tell her.

"I like it. I just wish there was something more you could do with it to add to the message."

A laugh escapes my mouth and I nudge her with my elbow. "You and me could kiss. Make him think he's so disgusting, I gave on boys in general."

Gasping, Levy pushes me lightly, causing me to laugh even more. "Lucy!"

When my laughter dies down, I say, "Oh Levy. You know I'm just joking."

"I know but that doesn't make it any less weird."

"It may be weird but the look on his face would be priceless. I would pay someone to get a picture of that look."

"I think you're getting a little carried away here Lu. As much as I love you, I don't want to kiss you."

Another small laugh escapes me. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right. Nobody pretends to be lesbian with their best friend just for a little petty revenge."

"Well obviously you're wrong sometimes. I literally just said I'd do that."

"Oh shush up Lucy."

"Fine," I say, deciding to stop carrying on with the whole idea.

Now if we meet out on the street I won't be running scared

I'll walk right up to you and put one finger in the air

And make you understand, and make you understand

You had your chance, had your chance

"We still have to come up with another way to get my revenge. He's not going to stay there forever and there's no way we're going to stalk him to get revenge, as sweet as it would be," I say.

A silence falls over the two of us as we think until Levy suddenly perks up. "I have an idea!"

"Then tell me!"

"Well you know how you have developed a crush on Natsu?" she asks.

"Oh no. No no Lev. We are _not_ bringing Natsu into this."

"Oh come one Lucy. It wouldn't be like kissing or anything. Just simple hand holding or something. Something that gets the point across but is comfortable enough for you to do with Natsu."

A silence falls over us once again as I decide. My heart screams yes but my mind yells no. It would be terrific to hold Natsu's hand, even if it was staged, but then again it would only strengthen my feelings for him. Feelings he most likely doesn't return.

"C'mon Lu! It might not last long but at least you would get some time to embrace your feelings for him!"

With this sentence, my mind is made up. "Fine!"

"Yes!"

"Go get him before I change my mind!" I order, feeling my face already burning up. With a nod, Levy darts away to where our group is outside one of the mall stores. There's a huge grin on her face as she does so.

 _But even if the stars and moon collide_

 _I never want you back into my life_

 _You can take your words and all your lies_

 _Oh, oh, oh, I really don't care_

 _Even if the stars and moon collide_

 _I never want you back into my life_

 _You can take your words and all your lies_

 _Oh, oh, oh, I really don't care_

 _Oh, oh, oh, I really don't care_

When Levy walks back to me with a grinning Natsu not far behind, I can feel my heart pounding already. "So, I hear you need me for a revenge plan?" Natsu asks.

I nod. "On my ex-boyfriend, yeah. Has Levy already told you what you're doing?"

Natsu's grin gets bigger while Levy has grown a sly smile on her face that makes me nervous. "Yep! I've been notified."

"And you're okay with it?"

"Of course I'm okay with it Luce! If I wasn't, I wouldn't be over here right now, would I?"

"No, I guess not."

"Great! Now let's go!" he exclaims. Grabbing my hand, he starts walking toward where my ex is standing. My heart practically explodes as he intertwines our fingers and holds on tight. I know I probably look like a blushing mess but I brush that aside to think about later as we get closer to my ex. I have a job to do.

When we're only a few feet away, I take a deep breath and put a smile on my face. "Hey! Long time no see!" I say, faking a smile.

When he turns around, surprise and confusion invades his features. "Lucy?" His gaze snaps to the hand I have intertwined with Natsu's, then it goes to Natsu himself, and finally back to me. "What are you doing here?"

"Shopping. What else would we do in a mall?" I say with venom in my voice as my smile drops.

"Um...Good point. Why are you talking to me?"

A laugh escapes my lips. "I wanted to see if you're still a lying, cheating bastard."

"I'm not. I have a lovely girlfriend named Sara." Just then, two girls, a brunette and a blonde, walk out of the store we're standing by with arms full of bags and walk up to him.

"Thank you for waiting for us!" the brunette says.

"Yeah, thanks," the blonde says. "Can you help Anna and I carry some of these bags?"

"Sure, Sara," he says, taking a few of the bags from the blonde's hands. Afterward, the brunette, who has been identified as Anna, grabs his hand and gives him a kiss on the cheek.

Deciding this is my time to speak up, a venomous smile grows on my face. "Huh, that's weird. I thought you said it was Sara you're dating."

At this, both girls, stare at him in shock until Sara walks up to him and slaps him in the face. Grabbing the bags from him, she gently leads Anna away, who now has tears in her eyes. As they walk away, my eyes meet with Sara's and I mouth a 'Sorry' to her but she shakes her head and mouths 'Would've known eventually.' The she turns away.

Turning back to him, a grin appears on my face. "That's what I thought. Now, this is a gift from me to you," I say as a give him the finger.

 _Yeah, listen up_

 _Hey, hey, never look back,_

 _Dumb struck boy, ego intact_

 _Look boy, why you so mad_

 _Second guessin', but should've hit that_

 _Hey, Demi, you picked the wrong lover_

 _Should've picked that one, he's cuter than the other_

 _I just wanna laugh, 'cause you're tryna be a hipster_

 _Kick him to the curb, take a Polaroid picture_

Natsu, who had been quietly watching and listening now speaks up. "I have a gift for you too. Something to help you realize what you lost." With that, he turned me so I was facing him and leaned down until our lips met. Though at first I was stiff, I quickly melted into it, wrapping my arms around his neck. When we pulled away, Natsu smirked and grabbed my hand once again before turning back to my ex, who was just watching with a mouth wide open. "As much as you don't deserve it, I hope one day you find someone who makes you feel like Lucy makes me feel. Maybe then you'll stop breaking people's hearts just for some fun."

After that he swiftly pulls me away to where Levy is waiting with the rest of our friends, our hands still intertwined.

"So Lucy, did you get what you wanted?" Levy asks when we reach her.

Glancing at Natsu, a smile grows on my face. "Definitely."

 _But even if the stars and moon collide_

 _I never want you back into my life_

 _You can take your words and all your lies_

 _Oh, oh, oh, I really don't care_

 _Even if the stars and moon collide_

 _I never want you back into my life_

 _You can take your words and all your lies_

 _Oh, oh, oh, I really don't care_

 _Oh, oh, oh, I really don't car_ e

 **This one was inspired by Demi Lovato's Really Don't Care. I just found a way to put some NaLu in it and just when I was beginning my inspiration had suddenly run dry too! Hope you enjoyed it!**


	16. 16: Five Stages

"He's not coming back, Lucy."

 ** _Shock and denial hits first._**

"What? He's gone? No. No there's no way."

"Sadly you're wrong."

"Don't say that. You know as well as I do that Natsu _always_ comes back."

"There's a first for everything."

"No. No not with Natsu. Not with this. This is impossible."

"And why is that, Lucy?"

"Because this can't be happening! Don't you see? He's going to come back! He's going to walk through those doors any second now!"

"How can you be sure of that Lucy?"

"I...well I..."

"Exactly."

 _ **The second stage is anger.**_

"None of you have enough faith in him! It's only been a week! There's still plenty of chance he's fine! He probably just got caught up somewhere!"

"Enough of this! He's gone."

"Don't you dare give up on him so easily! I thought better of you! Why aren't you trying harder to find him? What if he needs us?"

"He doesn't need us. He's not coming back."

"You don't have any proof of that! You don't know! You can't prove anything! And until you can prove it, I won't believe you!"

"Lucy you're just making this harder on yourself."

"Shut up! I don't care what you think! I'm not giving up on him!"

 _ **Bargaining is the next phase.**_

"Maybe he'll come back if I continue wishing like this."

"You know that won't happen."

"Maybe if we all start collectively wishing! C'mon let's all get in a circle and pray!"

"Lucy, you know that's ridiculous."

"Please...Please bring him back. I'll do anything if you give him back."

"Lucy, we can't do that."

"There must be some way to bring him back."

"I'm sorry."

"Please! I'll never complain about anything again! I'll...I'll never disobey anyone! I'll do anything!"

"You know we wish we could bring him back but we can't."

"Anything... Just please..."

 _ **Next comes depression and despair.**_

"He's gone. Natsu's gone."

"We know, Lucy."

"It hurts. It hurts so much."

"I know it does but you'll be okay."

"I don't know how to go on without him."

"You've been surviving so far."

"But it hurts so much. All I feel is pain. It's unbearable."

"It gets easier with time."

"I miss him so much. I miss everything about him."

"I know, Lucy."

"He meant so much to me. This pain is so terrible. I can't ignore it. I can't forget him."

"No one expects you to forget him. Still hold him in your heart."

"It just hurts..."

 _ **The final stage is acceptance and healing.**_

"I think I'm finally moving on."

"Good Lucy. That's good."

"Thinking about him...It's still sad but the pain is fading."

"How do you feel?"

"I feel...okay. I've been smiling and laughing more. Even without him."

"That's really good progress Lucy."

"Will thinking about him always be sad?"

"It can be but you can choose to think about the happy times with him, not the fact he's gone."

"Will that help?"

"Yes, it will."

"I remember when he first brought me to Fairy Tail. How happy I was when I got the mark. My first real memory of him besides when I first saw him."

"Those memories. Hold on to those memories and he'll always be with you."

"Of course. I'd never dare lose those memories. Especially now that they're all I have and all I'll ever have again."

 **So this one is real short and it's all dialogue besides the bold and italic sentences about the stages but I just really wanted to write something and I was feeling sad was the right mood. So yeah, this happened. Hope you enjoyed it!**


	17. 17: Hey Juliet

Natsu was slumped over his desk, his head down on the table and both his arms reaching resting on the desk and dangling in the front. This was the one and only reason he missed Lucy, the ex-rich girl who transferred to his school (and class) about a year and 2 months before, walking in. As soon as he heard her voice, however, he perked up and realized she was only a few steps away at that point. Throwing on his best grin, he ignored the pounding of his heart. He had become used to it at that point and it was just another part of his daily school life. "Hey Juliet!"

"For the last time, my name is Lucy!" the blonde yelled, immediately turning to the pink-haired boy.

This caused him to simply chuckle in reply. "Yeah I know but you know I would love to be your Romeo." Everyone in their class, scratch that, _school_ knew the boy was helplessly in love with the girl. Every day he would try to talk to her, try to get her to accept one single date, try to get her to give him a chance but no matter how persistent he was, she was just as stubborn. She would reject him each and every time and not give him a single glance more than it took to get him to leave her alone.

However, their class also saw the disappointment that would flash through her eyes the days he missed school or on the very, _very_ rare occasion that he would leave her be without saying a single word to her. Those were the days he wanted to give up but everyone, and I mean everyone, told him to keep trying. Natsu and Lucy's relationship was the top topic to gossip about in the school.

Everyone was sure they would get together since they were all convinced Lucy was just too stubborn to admit her feelings. They had no proof that she had feelings for him but very few ever questioned the 'fact.'

"Well sucks for you because _you_ know I don't want to be your Juliet!" the blonde retorted. "Besides, everyone knows that Romeo and Juliet are the last people you should try to copy. Their love was most likely simply the love of the normal teenager, passionate but ending. I doubt their relationship would've lasted had they both lived. And let's not dare to forget the simple, itty bitty fact that they both end up dead! And they're not even the only people dead!"

"You and your ranting Luce. It's starting to become a normal thing," the pinkette said. "But I don't mind. I think you're cute when you rant like that."

Rolling her eyes, Lucy ignored the warmth spreading throughout her body at Natsu's comment. "Whatever. Bye Natsu."

"Bye Lucy!"

As Lucy took her seat across the classroom, Natsu slumped back down in his chair and let out a big huff. "Giving up yet, Flamebrain?" Natsu's best friend and rival Gray asked.

"Of course not, Stripper. It just gets more frustrating with each day."

"You should give up though. She obviously doesn't want you, Ashbreath."

"Nah, I know she wants me. I hear her friends talk about me when she's not around," Natsu said matter-of-factly.

"Tell me why she tries to get you to stop then, Pyro."

"She's a weirdo, Ice Queen. I guess she just doesn't want to admit her love for me yet."

"Definitely," Gray responded sarcastically. It was then that the bell rang signalling the beginning of homeroom and the start of another torturous 5 days.

When the bell rang signalling the end of homeroom, Lucy left as quickly as she could like she did every other day. When she was outside the classroom, she slowed her pace a little but not too much. After all, she only had so much time before Natsu left the classroom as well. She was quick to get to her first hour class, the second student in, and let out a sigh of relief as she sat down in the seat she was assigned to in the only class she didn't have with the pink-haired boy she pretended to like as nothing more than a friend.

In actuality, the girl had a major crush on him. So why hide it when he so openly let her know he felt the same, you ask? It's because she's scared of getting into relationships. She doesn't want someone to break her heart. Natsu had the ability to do that to her so she avoided him as much as she could and acted as the annoyed girl who just wanted him to stop. Only her best friends knew that everything she did in front of him was an act, though she knew the rest of the school suspected it.

First hour went quickly for her and before she knew it, she was in her third hour classroom, desperately trying to keep her eyes from straying to where she knew the pinkette was watching her. Every day fighting those urges got harder for her and in the past month or so, she's started to slip up. It's only happened twice so far, but two times more than the amount she slipped up before that month.

But two turned into three that day. Only about a minute before class was supposed to start, her eyes subconsciously wandered to meet his. When their eyes met, Natsu smirked. Lucy started to wonder why something as simple as their eyes meeting would cause him to smirk like that when it hit her. Silently cursing at herself, she twist herself around to face the front. As she sat waiting for the bell to ring, her mind replayed the moments her eyes had been locked with his over and over. She couldn't help but admire his unique onyx eyes and she found herself starting to twist her head back in his direction.

Slapping herself on the top of her head, she let out a groan. She knew she should have gotten that extra hour of sleep she could've had. It took all her energy to stop herself from blowing her cover so every hour of sleep was precious. Except the night before she had spent an hour she could've been sleeping thinking about him. It had been one of the nights she wasn't able to stop herself from embracing her feelings for him and now she was paying the price. That hour passed aggravatingly slow.

By the end of the day, she was absolutely exhausted. In one day, she had managed to get her number of slip ups from 2 to 5. There was the glance before first hour, then she was caught smiling as she watched him from behind in the middle of fourth hour, and in sixth hour she had locked eyes with him again. Only this time she didn't turn away immediately. She had let their silent contact last for nearly a full minute. She was going to need a good lecture from herself when she got home.

As she packed up her school things to go home, she stiffened when she saw Natsu making his way toward her. It was rare they saw each other after school with their lockers being literally across the school and the doors they left also on opposite sides but there he was. He had a smirk engraved onto his face and when he reached her, it only increased in size, if that was possible. "Hey Luce."

"What do you want, Natsu?" Lucy said desperately trying to sound annoyed but failing. Instead she just sounded nervous with her voice an octave higher than normal. Dreading what he was going to say, she forced her gaze back on her locker.

"You seemed to like watching me today," he stated.

"What are you talking about?" This time her voice was back to normal and anyone could've thought she was truly annoyed had she stopped there but she, out of anxiousness, continued. "There's no way I'd watch you. Nope. Not me. Not at all. Not me. For sure not me. No chance. No." With each word, her voice got weaker and her nervousness showed.

Chuckling, Natsu glanced at her backpack and then locker. "Are you done packing your stuff up?" Nodding, Lucy slowly shut her locker and zipped her backpack up. "Great! Then come on!" Before Lucy could register what was happening, he was pulling her out of the school. She couldn't get ahold of herself enough to yell at him so instead so stayed silent trying to gather all the confidence she could. When Natsu finally stopped and released her wrist, they were off the main school property and in an area few people visited. It was under a weeping willow tree. "Alright Lucy, tell me truthfully, do you have feelings for me?"

Her eyes widening, she vigorously shook her head. "No! Of...Of course not!"

Natsu's eyes squinted suspiciously and he took a step toward her. They had already been pretty close so now he was right in front of her. "Are you sure?" he asked lowly.

"Y-yeah, Of c-course I am."

Her stuttering, however, gave it all away. "Tell the truth Lucy."

"I-I am!"

"Lucy. The truth."

"I..." Her head whipping back and forth in a desperate attempt to find something to use as an excuse to get out of there, she took in a deep breath. When she couldn't find anything she could use to get away, she looked at the boy in front of her. When their eyes met once again, she knew it was useless. He was too determined and she was too nervous. There was mo way she was getting out of this one. Breathing in one last deep breath before letting out a sigh of defeat, she braced herself for what was to come. "Fine...Natsu...I...I really, really like you and I know you like me too so..."

Not bothering to use words to answer her, he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer until she was pressed against him.

And with that, their lips met in a long kiss that released all their stored up feelings.

 **Hey, so this one-shot was inspiried by the song** ** _Hey Juliet_** **by LMNT. I personally think it turned out fairly okay. This one has just under 1,700 words at 1,699 words. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**


	18. 18: Cement, Roads, and Ballet

The girl was frantic. The biggest ballet recital in her life and she was running late. She never ran _late_! Not once in her life had she gotten to something late but here she was impatiently waiting for the light to turn so she could walk across the street where the large building she needed to get to in the next ten minutes was waiting.

Along with the stress and anxiousness she was feeling, there was also fear. She was in the bad part of town. Despite her city's biggest theater and auditorium being in this part of town, the rest of it was worn down and old. This was where the people she was told to avoid at all cost lived. She was old they were all bad people who would hurt her and take advantage of her fragility. She had been taught to fear them.

And yet, here she was, smack dab in the middle of them. She was obviously out of place here. She, a beautiful young lady in a designer dress, high heeled shoes, and expensive makeup, stood out amongst the crowd of tired looking people in casual clothes. The only similarity she could see was the rush. She wasn't the only one impatiently tapping their foot waiting for the light.

Brushing this to the side, she returned her eyes back to the light to watch it just as it switched. The people around her immediately jumped at the chance to move and started pushing forward. Not paying any attention to the girl, they marched forward despite her stumbling and before she knew it, she was in the middle of the street on her ground. Still, everyone around her barely gave her a single glance before they continued on their way.

With a groan of frustration, she shifted into a position that would allow her to stand easier. That's when something slammed into her and caused her face to smash into the road below her. A squeak of pain escaped her and she could feel tears building up behind her eyes as stabs of pain were sent through her head. "Oh jeez! I'm so sorry, miss!"

She could tell the voice was that of a boy but she was in too much pain to investigate further. Instead she slowly lifted herself up and rubbed her head gently with her right hand. When she took her hand away from her forehead, she was delighted to see no blood. A bloody gash in her forehead was the last thing she needed. She was about to stand up when a hand was held out in front of her. Her eyes trailed up the arm until it saw a face to go with the hand. A boy looking slightly worried with onyx eyes and pink hair was standing in front of her.

Despite her insides screaming at her not to take his hand because of what she had been taught all her life, she found herself slowly reaching forward until her soft delicate hand met her large calloused one. With his strength, she was quickly on her feet again. After giving him a small thank you, the first thing she did was check her phone for the time. It read 6:47. Her eyes widening in horror, she gasped and stuffed her phone back in her purse, all pain forgotten in her panic.

"Oh shoot! I have to go!" Without another glance at the boy, she was ran off, doing her best to keep from falling once again in her high heels. The boy watched her go with a curious gaze. As soon as he saw her turning into the theater, however, he turned away and shrugged it off. Before he turned a corner, however, he couldn't help but glance at the building one more time, wondering what that pretty girl was in such a hurry for.

Bursting through the backstage doors, all eyes turned to her. "Lucy! Oh thank everything holy you're here! What took you so long?" Letting out a sigh, she turned to the speaker, only to be interrupted before she could start speaking. "Nevermind, that can wait! You need to go get dressed! Go!"

Rushing to her designated dressing room, she quickly gets dressed in her costume, thankful she already had her blonde hair pulled up in a tight bun. Having to do hair would just add to the list of things to get done in the little time she had managed to salvage. Once fully dressed in what was necessary, she rushed out of the room. Almost immediately she was pulled to a chair, forced to sit, and had makeup being plastered on her face. Another person also fiddled with her hair to get it even better than it was.

After makeup, she was rushed to where she was to wait until it was her time to perform. With just two minutes to spare, she made it to her spot, hair done amazingly, makeup to the point of perfection, and costume sparkling. When she heard the music start, she took in a deep breath and prepared for her part.

When it got to her part, she could feel the pure joy rushing through her veins. Ballet was her favorite pastime and hobby and recitals always made excitement burn through her. This recital was just the same times ten. This was the recital that would make or break her career as a professional ballet dancer. She couldn't mess this up. Luckily for her, the excitement and anxiousness she felt always helped her instead of making it harder like it would for a lot of people. That was part of the reason she was such a successful dancer. That combined with natural talent and frequent practice earned her the title she wore proudly: Number one in the Fiore Ballet Association's Young Adult Training program.

The FBA had four separate programs all across Fiore for ballet dancers set up to help people along in hopes of becoming a famous dancer. The first is their Youth program for children first through fifth grades. In sixth grade, children are assured a move up to the Junior program. After middle school, it gets harder to move up.

To get into the Young Adult program- the ones for high schoolers- teenagers have to be approved by their dance instructors. The ones who are approved continue on as before. Those who aren't approved are still allowed to dance in the FBA's Alternative Ballet, or AB for short, dance program, which was designed specifically for the purpose of improving skills and nothing more. It's told to be harsh and unforgiving but effective. After at least a year, people in the AB test to see if they have improved enough to make it into the Young Adult program.

High school graduation is when things get really serious. After high school, those in AB are no longer approved at all and drop out of the FBA. They can continue dancing in the small programs dotted around the country and stay out of the FBA permanently or they can continue to train until they are able to pass an extremely difficult ballet test that includes every ballet position and dance move. Those who managed to stay out of the AB and were in the Young Adult program move on to the Professional Adult Training program.

In the PAT program, people train and practice for a year. When that year is up, a nationally broadcasted TV program is held in which they perform a dance that either ends or starts their professional dance career. During the performances there's all kinds of famous dancers to watch them. After the whole event is over with, famous dancers talk to the ones who stood out to them. Getting a famous dancer to recognize you there is the fast track to a professional career, though obviously it's not the only way. If television viewers noticed you despite not being noticed by professionals, you can also make it. After several months, if you have been noticed enough, an invitation to the Professional Adult program is given. In the Professional Adult program, people continue to practice obviously but they are also given the chance to dance with multiple famous dancers and at many recitals. They are basically given a taste of what the famous dancer life is like. Many people can't handle it and drop out, leaving the people who are good enough and can handle it.

The whole association is basically just a long and complicated system for creating famous ballet dancers.

After a year of constant practice, the time had come for Lucy's make or break PAT performance. Sure, she was already talked about by the already famous dancers because of her title but it didn't guarantee her a spot in the PA. So when her part came on in the dance, she let her excitement and nervousness flood through her and push her forward. Her body flowed with the music and she leapt and twisted. She felt alive with famous people watching her dance this famous dance.

When the dance ended and she was offstage, she felt a smile creeping onto her face. It only grew as she was told time and time again how well she did and how she would make it to the PA without a doubt. Time rushed forward faster than it had ever before and before she knew it, the last performance had ended and all dancers were lined on stage separated by their dance groups.

"All those dances were beautiful! Thank you all for your performances no matter what happens! Now, go mingle with your favorite dancers!"

Immediately everyone including Lucy rushed off the stage. Lucy was one of the first off and only a few steps from the stairs that had led her off the stage, she heard her name being called. "Lucy! Lucy Heartfilia!" Turning around, she gasped. There, rushing toward her was her number one idol in the flesh and calling her name, January Karington. "Lucy! You're an amazing dancer! It's no wonder you're number one in YAT!" She had now reached my side.

"You think I'm amazing!"

"Of course! When you were dancing, you hit everything perfectly and I could see the emotion in your movements. You really conveyed the emotion of the story so fantastically and I was left astounded by your performance!"

"Oh, you have no idea how amazing that feels to hear from you! You're my idol!"

"I bet what you're feeling now is nothing compared to what is coming." Tilting her head, Lucy's confusion was obvious which only caused January to laugh. "Lucy Heartfilia, under the YA program and whatever ballet group you end up joining, I wish to become your ballet instructor."

It took a minute for Lucy to fully register what the woman in front of her had said but when she did, her jaw dropped in shock. Then, the largest grin she thought she had ever managed worked its way onto her face. "Are you serious?"

"One hundred percent," January nodded.

"You just made my day! No, my week! Scratch that, you've made my life!"

"So is that a yes?"

"Yes!"

"Great," January said as she held out a small business card to Lucy. The blonde took it and looked at it curiously. "That has my contact information. Call me in a few months when you're in the PA program, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Perfect. See you in a few months Lucy." With that, January was gone and Lucy walked back up the stairs to the stage and started heading backstage. Once backstage, she let out a squeal which attracted the attention of everyone around her. She saw her current dance instructor rush toward her.

"Lucy! What's wrong?"

"January wants to be my instructor for the PA!"

"As in _the_ January?"

Nodding her head in euphoria, she held out the business card. "January Karington said she wants me to call her in a few months once I'm officially in the PA!"

"Oh Lucy that's great!"

Later in the night, Lucy was on the way back to the hotel she was staying in, the happiness still mostly there, when something crashed into her from behind and sent her lurching forward. She hit the sidewalk hard and pain shot through her. Twisting herself around so she wasn't on her stomach she found herself face to face with onyx eyes that seemed somehow familiar. The person they belonged to, realizing he was still hovering over her, quickly scrambled to off her. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I have a bad habit of not paying attention to where I'm going sometimes!"

Giggling slightly at his franticness, Lucy shook her head. "That's okay!"

When he was no longer over her and was simply sitting besides her, they got a better look at each other. "Hey, you're that boy that slammed into me earlier too!"

"Hey, you're that girl that I slammed into earlier!"

They said it at the exact same time and after a moment's silence, they burst into laughter. When they had calmed down, the boy stood up and held a hand out to Lucy. This time she took it without hesitation. "Hey, so why did you run away so quickly last time?"

"Huh? Oh, I had to get to a really important ballet performance."

"So you're a ballet dancer. Do you mean the PAT performance at the theater?"

Blinking at him in surprise, she nodded her head. "Yeah, I do. How do you know about that? You don't seem like the type to know ballet things."

He simply shrugged. "My sister is into ballet so I hear things. She's always talking about the FBA and I guess I just picked it up along the way."

"Oh cool. What program is she in?"

"Program?"

"You know, like Young, Junior, and Young Adult?"

"Oh, she's in whatever high schoolers are in."

Laughing at his answer, Lucy nodded his head. "Young Adult."

"Which one are you in?"

"Well take a guess if I was in the PAT performance today."

"PAT?" Lucy simply nodded her head in response. "What does PAT even stand for?"

"Professional Adult Training. It's the program for transitioning from high school ballet to professional dancing. It also decides your dancing fate at the end of it."

"What's your fate?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well the PAT performance is the end of the program, right? So if the end decides the fate, surely you've found out yours."

A smile grew on Lucy's face at this point. "Oh, yes! The end has given me the contact information of January-fudging-Karington!"

January Karington? It sounds sorta familiar."

"January is only the most famous ballet dancer alive! She's my idol! And now she wants to be my instructor!"

"Wow, that's great...Wait, I don't know your name."

"Oh! Lucy! My name is Lucy Heartfilia," Lucy said, holding her hand out to him.

Taking her hand in his and shaking them, he said, "Mine is Natsu Dragneel."

"It's nice to meet you Natsu."

"You as well, Lucy."

 **Multiple things to say: One, I KNEW IT! I told you this would happen. 2: This took FOREVER to write since I know nothing about ballet but I wanted to include it because, y'know, skating is like the opposite of ballet. One's all graceful and pretty and the other is not. 3: I'm thinking of making this an actual story. I already have ideas on what could happen. What do you think? 4: As usual, I hope you enjoyed reading!**


	19. 19: With Love and Pain, Lucy Heartfilia

_Dear Natsu,_

 _Wherever you go, you hear the words 'Time heals all wounds," and in most cases, it's true but I believe it's not always true. Time doesn't always heal you. Sometimes it simply allows you to learn to live with the pain so it's just a dull ache you've gotten so used to that you don't even feel it anymore or maybe it just buries the wound under other things until it's covered up completely by dust and cobwebs, lost in your subconscious. I believe that's what I experienced all those years ago with you, when you told me you loved me like I loved you just to turn your back on me and date someone else. I believe that's why every once in a while, here and there, your name will slip through my thoughts like a venomous snake, except instead of fangs piercing skin, it's memories piercing my heart._

 _Those moments are the moments this belief of mine seems all too real. If time had healed my wounds, I wouldn't feel emotional pain turned physical at the thought of you and I would be smiling at the good times we had, not the bad times you brought me. Sometimes I like to think that maybe time is just taking its sweet time and in another ten years, your memory won't hurt. But I know how ridiculous that is. This pain I feel, I can tell it's not something that will fade. After all, it still hurts just as much as it did the first few weeks. In fact, the only difference I notice is that these bouts of pain of simply more spread out._

 _I remember when I first confessed my feelings to you. It was over a silly little Facebook game. It was extremely simple. I was supposed to copy and paste the post as my status. It basically just said that I would answer the first question commented. It was simple enough and I had nothing better to do at the time. So I did it and in the first few minutes, I already had my question._

 _'Who do you like?'_

 _It was you who commented it. I don't know why you wanted to know but I knew I had two choices. One, ignore it and risk getting called out directly, or, two, tell you and hope for the best._

 _I was shaking so much. I was so scared. My heart was beating incredibly hard and my breathing was extremely forced. The air felt so thick. I couldn't make up my mind on whether to tell you or not so I went to Kik and told all my friends. Before that day, I hadn't told a single soul about my feelings for you. Not even my Plue plush. It had been one of my best kept secrets and everyone knows I'm not a good liar. So when I told them in my panicked state, it felt like the world had been lifted off my shoulders. The unfortunate thing was that I still had the weight of Jupiter on them with the knowledge that I still had yet to tell you yourself._

 _Anyway, my friends advised me to just say it and get it over with. So, sucking it up, I replied to your comment telling you to DM me. It took everything in me not to just blurt it out when your message came._

 _'So, who is it?'_

 _Before I said it, I needed to make sure you wouldn't freak out. It would've destroyed me had you shut me out or started acting weird or something._

 _'Before I tell you, promise me you won't hate me.'_

 _'Of course I promise. I'd never hate you.'_

 _After I got that message, I knew there was no more delaying and that I had to do it before I chickened out and avoided answering or even tried to lie. So I typed in my answer and sent it before a second thought could stop me._

 _'It's you. I like you.'_

 _I can still imagine the shakiness of my breath and hands when I set my phone down and waited anxiously for your reply. I don't remember exactly what happened after that but I remember the relief that washed over me when continued acting just as you usually did._

 _Then, how a few months later you told me you felt the same. After all this time I don't recall the explanation you gave as to why you didn't tell me when I told you but I believed you. I was so happy. I was smiling and laughing and it felt as if I was flying. The happiness I felt then is comparable to the exhilaration I felt when I went on my first rollercoaster. So strong and addicting._

 _After you told me of your feelings, you said you just didn't want a relationship. And I fell for it. I gave you your space, remained your best friend but nothing more. But then months later and you still just weren't 'ready for a relationship' I guess that should have been the first red flag. The second should've been when we were walking through the school halls and you kept going on about Lisanna._

 _Even though you were basically exposing your lie right then by going on about her, I ignored it and continued on with my hoping. It's almost stupid how many red flags there were that I ignored because I was too blind with happiness. Anyone with an outside perspective probably could've easily seen what was going on._

 _It was summer by the time I was forced to open my eyes and my world came crashing down around me. Everything's a blur and I can't remember what was said or how exactly I found out about it. There is one thing I remember quite vividly though: the feeling of my heart getting stabbed, torn, ripped, beaten, and abused._

 _You were the second to ever make me cry over a relationship and what we had wasn't technically a relationship either. I remember how only a day after I found out about your relationship, I was with all my friends at the annual fair. The thing was you were there as well. With your new girlfriend. All my friends loudly mocked you whenever we passed but I never said a word. I kept my head down and mouth shut._

 _Despite what you had done to me, I hated, absolutely despised them treating you like that. I knew you deserved it but it hurt me anyway. However, I managed to push through the day and despite the frequent sight of you, it was pretty good._

 _Fast forward months and we had spoken maybe a total of twenty sentences. Halloween night: the night I had been looking forward to, the night I had been excited for, the night I had to spend with all my friends._

 _We were walking down the street and suddenly there you were. And there she was. Holding your hand. My smile vanished in a split second and my mind was now plagued with thoughts of you. Though the rest of the night was spent in silent agony, I pushed forward and kept a fake smile on my face. I couldn't ruin my friend's perfect Halloween._

 _When trick-or-treating ended, my friend was picked up after the two of us had split from the rest and I was left to my own thoughts on the way home. The second your car and disappeared from sight, my smile dropped again and I silently started making my way home. Just as I was arriving, everyone else was leaving so by the time I got inside, I was the only one home. Pushing back tears in case they came back, I took off the boots that had been part of my costume. Then I made my way up the stairs to the privacy of my room._

 _When my bedroom door closed behind me, I burst into tears, threw off my hat, and slipped out of the dress. The next half an hour was spent on my bed sobbing the pain away._

 _I couldn't look at the hat or dress for months afterward. They just reminded me of the travesty that perfect night ended up being._

 _As time went on, those feelings never faded so here I am, years later and still thinking about it. I'm writing this because I think you need to know what you did to me. Who knows, maybe it'll help me finally and truly move on. I've held this inside all this time and it's time I let it out._

 _So when this letter reaches you, please take your time to read it and if you rush through it the first time, I beg of you, go back and read it again carefully. Maybe a third and fourth time as well. Read it as many times as it takes for my message to you gets through to you. Whatever has come of you and whatever you're doing, please take the time to remember me. Even if you throw this letter away right after you do it and let me fade, I think I deserve to be remembered by you just this one time._

 _Now, it is time I wrap this up. I hope you now know the pain you put me through and understand what lies can do to a person. I hope maybe, if you have continued lying as you did to me, that this letter will help straighten you out. I wish you the best in what's to come. Goodbye, Natsu._

 _With love and pain,_

 _Lucy Heartfilia_

 **Oookayyy, so yeah. There's that. This one hurt to write because the story is based off personal experiences and yeah, time hasn't healed it. Just made it easier to ignore. So yep. I hope you enjoyed this one and know that the pain was totally worth it! Also, I'm sorry if you don't like the whole letter set up. It's just that, as I said, this is based off personal experience and it's not just another one-shot for you guys. It's also a way to express my emotions and I felt like the letter format really worked. It felt like I was actually writing a real letter to the person that caused the pain in my life. Anyway, talk to you guys later!**


	20. 20: With Regret and Sorrow, Natsu D

_Dear Lucy,_  
 _When I got your letter, I'll admit, I was reluctant to read it but after some debating, I ended up tearing the envelope and taking in your words. I had no idea what you could want from me after all this time, why you were reaching out to me, and how you had even managed to get my address so you could send it. But that doesn't matter. What matters is what that letter contained._  
 _I will tell you now, what I did back then was stupid and cruel. I was young and dumb but that's still no excuse for what I did to you. It probably hurt you enough to tell me and have to stay friends when every inch of you wanted more than that. It probably hurt like hell when I was talking about Lisanna so freely and openly. Just not returning your feelings did enough damage. So what I did afterward was just plain nasty._  
 _When I told you I loved you back, I don't know what I was thinking. I didn't want to hurt you by not returning the feelings and I guess my idiotic self thought lying about it would be smart. I have no idea how in the world I thought that would ever succeed or end up good in any possible way. I knew that if I told you I returned your feelings, you'd be expecting a relationship but I didn't want that. Obviously. So I told you I wasn't ready for a relationship. It took me so long to figure out how wrong that decision was but by that point, it was way too late. By the time I figured that out, you had already realized those words were complete lies._  
 _After I told you that, I didn't want to face you. I didn't want to have to face your eyes as they stared lovingly at me and I didn't want to catch you in the middle of daydreams, knowing some of them were likely about me. So I ran. I started avoiding you. I never talked to you first anymore and my time with you was spent trying to get away. Of course I always did it in a low-key way to avoid hurting you farther. I know now that doing that just made it worse in the end. So when our freshman year ended in high school, I was relieved to say the least. I no longer had to face you. That whole summer I saw you only like twice and I know for a fact that at least one of those was complete coincidence. We both just happened to be at the same place at the same time._  
 _That summer was when I started dating Lisanna officially. I can't imagine what you felt when you found that out. That day at the fair was amazing at the time. Seeing you didn't phase me at all anymore. Now that the truth was out and you didn't seem to have any intention of talking to me, I felt free. That was so selfish of me but of course back then I was only thinking of myself. Whenever you and your friends walked by my new group, I noticed your mood changes. I noticed how laughs were immediately cut out when you saw my pink hair and how your face would be anywhere but toward me. In fact, my area in general was over the limits for you. I also noticed the barely visible but there winces of pain when you heard my voice or when you heard your friends mock me. Those signs should have made it obvious what you were going through. I just shook it off and brushed it away. I convinced myself that you would get over it pretty quickly. Your wound was still fresh that day so of course it hurt but it was nothing to truly worry about._  
 _When summer ended and sophomore year began a few weeks later, we had one class together. Three months before, our multiple classes together were simply amazing for you but at that moment, that one was your worst nightmare. I could tell yet I simply brushed it off again. When we arrived at the door of that classroom at the exact same time, I noticed the flash of pain that streaked across your face when you noticed me and I saw the way your shoulders slumped and your eyes were cast down as you walked when I barely gave you a single glance. I noticed your constant glances toward me, your stiffness, and your constant shifting around in your seat._  
 _I noticed a lot of things I realize now. Yet still, I had the nerve to brush it off as nothing. As you know, my relationship with Lisanna only lasted a few months. While we had been best friends for years, we just weren't meant to be in a relationship. Then when I started dating someone else, I know you heard conversations with my new friends about her._  
 _I heard you talk about how you hated that class plenty of times and you always gave the excuses of "because it's chemistry" and "the teacher is creepy" but I have a feeling that wasn't the complete truth. I feel like my presence in that class dampened the class even further for you. Having to see someone who tore your heart into a million pieces every day of your life minus weekends had to have hurt like nothing else. Of course eventually you learned to deal with it and you started speaking loudly as you do and your fear of me noticing you became more and more ignorable. After a few months, I stopped noticing you though and I barely noticed you anymore despite being in that class. I bet you still noticed me all the time._  
 _I have no excuse for what I did back then and I know you deserve so much more but just know that I deeply regret my actions. Reading your letter brought back those memories and with them came a remorse I hadn't known before. I know it's impossible to take back what happened ten years ago but I need you to know that if I could, I would go back and tell the truth right away. Of course it would still hurt you but at least I wouldn't hurt you even further._  
 _After reading you letter, I decided to send you my own so you know that I did as you asked and remembered you. You might be pleased to hear this or you might not be, I don't know, but I have not dated since high school. Think of it as karma for what I did to you. I have a good job, house, and friends, but karma has left me single. It will probably keep me this way for years considering the pain you're still going through. These two words will never be enough but they're the most I can do right now so I'll say them anyway. I'm sorry. I'm so incredibly sorry for my actions back then._  
 _That's about all I can say so it's time I finish this letter to you. I hope that after you sent that letter, you gained the ability to move on and that this reply will help you even further. I hope that from now on, you can go live your life like you should've been able to long ago. I may have forgotten you after sophomore year but now that I've remembered you, there's no way I'll forget. I wish you well, Lucy. Goodbye._  
 _With Regret and Sorrow,_  
 _Natsu Dragneel_

 **Alright! Here's the new update. It's a continuation of the last one-shot, With Love and Pain, Lucy Heartfilia. This update is dedicated to MarSofTheGalaxies for suggesting it! I hope you all enjoyed it!**


	21. 21: Decieved By Skin

To put things lightly, Lucy was annoyed. She was annoyed everyone talked about their Soulmate. She was annoyed she saw the words 'Soulmate,' and 'Soul Tracker' everywhere she went. She was annoyed some of them showed the Trackers off like they were their biggest life achievement. She was annoyed she _couldn't_.  
You see, in Lucy's world, people are born with a Soulmate. This soulmate shares a very specific design naturally imprinted on the skin with them. These marks are called Soul Trackers and they're the best way to find a Soulmate. Children are taught all about this as they grow and they're taught that getting your Soul Tracker is one of the best feelings in the world.  
As Lucy grew, she became more and more excited to get hers. In elementary, seeing kids with their Trackers was a rarity and made it all the more special. Lucy wanted to be one of those kids. In middle school, more kids were getting theirs and Lucy's excitement only grew more. In high school, almost everybody had one and Lucy was growing impatient but felt it would also make it so much more special when it happened. In college, everybody else had them and Lucy was losing hope. By the time she got her first job out of college, she had lost almost all hope and started noticing the looks of pity in people's eyes when she told them of her Tracker-less skin. By the time she finally started climbing the ranks in her job, she had lost all hope of getting her Tracker and annoyance started replacing joy at the thought of them.  
At age 26, the Soul Tracker hype was just as alive as when she was a small child and she was nearly at her wits end. She knew a study that had been conducted when she was around 12 showed that there had been occurrences where people didn't gain their Tracker until they met their Soulmate and names had been told to each other. It had only happened around 10 times throughout all the years so she had convinced herself that she was one of the unfortunate handful born without a Soulmate no matter how many times she was told there was still a chance. She couldn't bring herself to believe in her Soulmate when her skin refused to confirm it; So she didn't.  
This, however, changed faster than she could have ever imagined.  
It happened late one night on her way home from work. She had a job at Fairy Tail Newspaper as a journalist. It had been a good day for her so she was in a good mood despite being exhausted from running around for an interview and writing all day. So when she hit a red light on her walk, instead of waiting impatiently as she usually did, she leaned against a pole and closed her eyes. With her eyes closed, she focused on listening to what was going on around her.  
She listened to the roar of cars as they drove by and the barks of dogs in the park not too far from where she was. She listened in on the conversations of passing pedestrians. She even listened to the sound of feet hitting the pavement. She stood there listening for far longer than she meant to but she didn't care. She was enjoying listening to the things around her. After all, it was ne of her favorite secret pastimes.  
Everything was normal and the Soulmate talk she heard from passing conversations didn't even bother her. She stayed like that for a while, even missing the first chance she had to cross the street and continue on her way, until she heard something that caused a gasp to escape her lips.  
"Oh please, ice queen. You know I don't have a Tracker."  
Her eyes shooting open, she glanced around frantically in search of the man who said those words. There were many people passing and she had no idea what he looked like so she knew that unless he talked again, it would be incredibly unlikely for her to find him. She kept looking anyway, desperate to find someone who might understand her.  
"Honestly that's a relief. I'd feel sorry for the girl who ended up having you as a Soulmate."  
Hearing this, she felt slightly comforted that the voice seemed from around the same area as the first sentence. It meant they weren't walking and she would have more time to find them so she focused her eyes on the area it came from. It was to her right where only four people were waiting for the light to turn so they could walk across the street. Noticing only four people standing to wait, she watched each one closely.  
"You're the one who should be without a Soulmate. I feel so sorry for Juvia."  
Following the voice, her eyes finally met the speaker. What I saw made her almost choke on air. The first thing she saw was his hair. It was an unruly mess of spikes but what made it attention grabbing was the color. _Pink_. She couldn't help but think that whoever he was, he had the best pink hair she'd ever seen. The second thing she noticed was the muscle. She could feel her heart flip in her chest as she watched his muscles flex with each small movement he made. Then there was the scarf. Despite it being the middle of summer, he had a white scarf that looked almost like it was made of scales wrapped tightly around his neck. The white was stained with dirt and it seemed to being tearing a bit like he hadn't washed it in months. Moving her eyes away from his scarf, she finally looked at his face. When she saw the smirk he had set firmly on his face, her breath caught. "Damn, he's _fine_ ," she whispered under her breath. Before she could study him any further, a voice distracted her. More specifically, the voice of the pink-haired man's companion.  
"I think you're just jealous because you don't have a Soulmate or someone to love."  
With this sentence, Lucy was reminded of why she looked for them in the first place. Before she could tell herself to stop, her body was pushing her forward. "You have no Soulmate?" she asked, pure curiosity and wonder overtaking her face.  
Both males turned toward her, surprise at her sudden interruption obvious in their facial expressions. She felt their eyes rake her body up and down but she could tell it was out of curiosity instead of the lust she was used to. Then the pink-haired man gave her a grin and shook his head. "Nope! Twenty-seven with Tracker-less skin! Weird, huh?"  
Shocking them for the second time in less than two minutes, she shook her head just as the Tracker-less man had down just moments before. "Nope. I don't have one either."  
There was a small silence as the two males took in the new information. "Wait, so let me get this straight. Flamebrain over here isn't the only Tracker-less person?"  
"Obviously not popsicle. The girl's not just gonna lie about it," Pinky snapped at his friend.  
"I never said she would, Ash-breath! I'm just surprised!"  
"No need to fight, gentlemen," she stated as she crossed her arms and leaned all her weight onto her left leg and hip. Both males turned toward her and watched her for a minute before nodding and facing her completely once again. "You said you're twenty-seven?" She locked her eyes onto the oynx ones of her fellow Tracker-less human.  
"Yeah, turn twenty-eight this year though."  
"I turn twenty-seven this year."  
"Only a year apart? Sweet Mavis this is weird," Pinky's companion said.  
Both Pinky and Lucy simply nodded their heads in response. "So what are your names?"  
Pinky's companion was the first to speak. "I'm Gray."  
"Name's Natsu," Pinky stated. The two names rolled around in Lucy's head for a moment before she gave them a smile and a nod.  
"Pleased to meet you both. My name is Lucy."  
Before anyone can do anything else, a white glow surrounds her and she feels lighter. A warm feeling spread throughout her whole body and made her feel like she was sitting next to a fire. Before she had the time to notice anything else, the light was gone and all her weight was back. Looking around, she noticed that the whole world had seemingly stopped, their gazes directed toward her, Natsu, and Gray and mouths hung open.  
Looking up at the two males, her mouth joined those hanging open as she noticed something new on Natsu's skin. There, shining in the light, was a bright Tracker on his shoulder. A shimmering golden key was shown sticking in a lock of light pink in the shape of a heart. Bright red and orange flames wrapped around the key and heart lock. While the design was simple itself was simple, the details etched into each curve and line was far more intricate. There were even some realistic shadows evident in the mark.  
Suddenly, the quiet street had burst with cheers and applause, causing Lucy's study of the mark to get cut short.  
"They got their Trackers!"  
"Oh, it's so cute!"  
"They must be two of the rare Soulmates!"  
"I can't believe we got to witness that firsthand!"  
That's when Lucy noticed where Natsu was staring dumbfounded. Slowly lowering her eyes, she felt her heart stop when they landed on the back of her right hand. The flaming key and lock freshly residing there was a perfect match to the one occupying Natsu's shoulder. Her eyes followed as her hand slowly lifted until she saw the two matching designs side by side.  
It was then that Natsu seemed to snap out of his daze, the first traces of a grin invading his features. "Well would ya look at that. I do have a Soulmate!" The grin that had started to form just moments before had finished forming and now stretched from ear to ear. Seeing this, Lucy snapped out of her daze as well.  
The pure joy she felt flooding through her systems forced a grin similar to Natsu's to form on her face. "I can't believe I have a Soulmate! All that hating Soulmates and Soul Trackers was for nothing! My childhood dreams came true!" Without thinking, Lucy ran forward and wrapped her arms around the pink-haired man standing before her. She squeezed him with all her might, mind too foggy with elation to notice she was cutting off his air supply. "Thank you!"  
"No-no p-problem," he wheezed out.  
When Lucy finally loosened her grip on him and her arms fell back down to her side, he warmly welcomed the oxygen with loud gasps. Realizing what she had done, the female immediately felt bad. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"  
Natsu, however, just laughed once he regained his breath. "That's alright Lucy. I know you're just happy."  
"Happy is an understatement. Try elated, euphoric, exhilarated, delighted, ravished, or literally any other word stronger than happy!"  
Gray, who had been standing quietly and watching, finally broke into the conversation. "I can't believe this pyromaniac has a Soulmate. Especially with such a beautiful woman."  
"Oi, she's _my_ Soulmate! Save calling people beautiful for _yours_!"  
Instead of yelling back, Gray simply chuckled. "Barely know her and you're already protective." Then he turned to me. "Good luck dealing with him, Lucy. I'm sure you'll need it."  
"I kinda like the protectiveness. It's cute."  
As Gray rolled his eyes, Natsu seemed to perk up even more. "Ha! See, she likes it so it's fine!"  
"I bet she's just saying that to keep you happy," Gray mumbled before looking straight at Lucy. "So Lucy, since you have finally met your Soulmate, why don't you join us so you can get to know him more."  
With a large smile on her face, she nodded her head. "Sure!" Then looking down at the bag that contained everything she might need for work, added, "But we'd have to stop off at my house first so I drop off my work bag."  
"That's no problem! How far is it?"  
"Just another block," Lucy informed the two.  
"Cool! C'mon!" Natsu exclaimed as he grabbed her wrist and started pushing through the crowd that had long since stopped paying attention to the two newfound Soulmates with Gray not too far behind. Watching from behind, Lucy couldn't help but have a great feeling about the future.

 **New update! I really wanted to do one of these Soulmate ones but I didn't have anything planned out so I just started typing, deleting, and retyping until this final product emerged. I hope you enjoyed it**


	22. 22: Something Just Like This

Natsu was fighting with Gray as per usual and Lucy was watching from her normal spot at the bar. Though it was the last thing Natsu would think Lucy would ever do, she was smiling as she watched them. Normally she'd be annoyed or angry or something that didn't come with the bright smile she held at that moment. Of course he barely noticed this fact and once he did notice it, he didn't bother to pay it much attention. He was focused much more on his fight.

Levy was sitting next to Lucy, reading a book like she so often did but when the bue-haired girl glanced up from her book after a loud crash coming from Natsu's fight and noticed the goofy smile on Lucy's face, she put the book down ad turned to face Lucy completely. "Oh Lucy!" she sang.

Snapping out of her happy daze, the blonde looked at the bluenette curiously, the surprise fading quickly from her face. "What do you want, Lev?" she asked with a tiny glance toward Natsu hoping the girl wouldn't notice.

Unfortunately for Lucy, the bookworm noticed it immediately. "What was that goofy smile on your face about?"

"Oh nothing important!" the blonde exclaimed a little too quickly and a lot too nervously. Rubbing the back of her neck, the blonde looked around the guild in order to avoid Levy's suspicious gaze.

Deciding to drop the subject and bring up something else, the bookworm asked Lucy something seemingly completely different though they definitely had a connection. "What kind of guy are looking for, Lu?"

"Looking for? What do you mean?" the blonde asked though she knew full well what the other had meant.

"What kind of boy do you want to date?"

This caused Lucy to subconsciously glance at the pink-haired boy still fighting across the room and just as the earlier glance, it didn't go unnoticed by Levy. "Uh...I don't know Levy."

"Oh come on Lucy. You have to know something about what you want. Anything at all!"

"I guess...he has to be fun to be around. I guess that's kind of obvious though..." The blonde trailed off, deciding to take silence over whatever would come out of her mouth next. After a minute of silence, she opened her mouth to speak again. "And he has to be loyal. Loyalty is so important. Without loyalty there's no real relationship no matter how much love there is. I want him to be sweet too. Like, maybe not completely outright. Like subtly sweet. You know what I mean?"

Levy nodded her head, a grin on her face at Lucy's description so far. "Oh yeah, definitely. You want a man who doesn't constantly bombard you with sweet words but instead shows his love through his actions and loyalty to you and you alone."

"Exactly! Yeah, that's what I want." Thinking that much would satisfy the bluenette, Lucy turned away from the girl, her eyes going back to the fight still going on. They were, of course, focused on a particular pinkette. Levy, on the other hand, was far from satisfied. She wouldn't be until Lucy showed some kind of sign to confirm her suspicions.

"Anything else, Lucy?"

The blonde slowly turned back to look at Levy once again. "Uh...Not really."

"Think Lucy! There's got to be more!" Levy urged.

"Fine," Lucy said. "Well, I want to be able to go on all sorts of adventures with him. Basically I want him to be adventurous and spontaneous. I want someone who is constantly surprising me."

"Go on."

"Well..." The blonde glanced at the two fighting boys once again. "I want him to have that childish but mature personality. Meaning he can act like a child when he's happy and there's nothing serious going on but then he can be almost frighteningly serious when it's needed. He can be a complete idiot sometimes but other times he's the bravest and most confident in the room."

Each word Lucy said confirmed Levy's idea further. Nothing Lucy was saying mismatched. It all added up. Getting impatient, she decided to hurry this up a bit. "So, is this all out of the brain or is this describing someone?" she asked, her elbow nudging the blonde lightly.

A slight blush made an appearance on Lucy's face as a result and she glanced away in embarrassment. "What? Why would you think I was describing someone?" the blonde asked as she took a sip of the drink that had been left forgotten before.

Levy shrugged her shoulders to play it off as a simple question. "Oh no reason. It was just a question. Besides, it might give me a clue as to who you like."

In her surprise, she choked on the drink. Before she could respond, she was sent into a fit of coughs as her body tried to get rid of the liquid. When it was successful, Lucy glared at the bluenette in front of her. "Who I like? How do you know I like someone?"

"Aha! So you do like someone!" Levy exclaimed as she jumped up from her seat. "I knew it!"

Realizing her mistake, the red of Lucy's face grew brighter. "N-no! I never said that!" she weakly denied.

"Yes you did! You like someone! Now tell me who it is!"

Lucy frantically shook her head. "Never!"

A sly grin formed on Levy's face as an idea popped into her mind. "Is it Natsu?"

"N-natsu? Where'd you get t-that idea? No way I'd ever...like Natsu." Her face had managed to get even brighter with each passing second until her whole face was practically tomato red and she could do nothing but squirm and avoid Levy's determined and pleased stare.

"Admit it Lucy. It's Natsu."

"It's not! It's not Natsu!"

"You'll have to do better than that to convince me otherwise."

"Why would I ever like Natsu!"

"He fits everything you just described to me."

"There's lots of people with that kind of personality."

"Name one other person who fits your description perfectly."

"Um...Well..."

"You can't! There's my proof. Now admit it."

"Fine! Fine. Yes, it's Natsu."

"Perfect." A plain evil smirk etched itself onto the bookworm's face now. "Oh Natsu! Come here!"

If Lucy's face could have gotten brighter, it would have but it was already as red as could be. Her eyes grew wide and she shifted her body nervously. She could only watch as the called pinkette stopped moving halfway through throwing a punch at Gray and looked over toward the two. When he saw Levy's grin and Lucy's red face, he stood up straight and ran over to the two, leaving Gray behind without another word. "What's up Levy?" he asked as he stopped in front of her.

"Lucy wants to go home! Would you be willing to kindly escort her there?" she lied as she motioned to the blushing blonde, who could only manage a weak smile toward the boy when he turned his head to look at her.

"Sure! I'd love to spend some time with Luce!" At the sound of the nickname for her only Natsu used, her embarrassment grew.

"Hear that Lucy? He'd _love_ to spend more time with you."

"Shut up Levy!"

"Off you two lovebirds go!" the short girl said as she pushed them away.

Before either could respond, they were out the door and the door was closed behind them. "Well c'mon Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed as he started walking forward. Lucy scurried to catch up with him, her face still bright. "Why did Levy call us lovebirds?" he asked, his head tilting to the side.

"N-no reason! She just thinks we'd be a good...um...couple." By the end of the sentence, her words came out barely above a whisper but Natsu still heard it perfectly fine.

"Oh." Unknown to Lucy, the thought of him and her being a couple made him incredibly happy. Though he hid it exceptionally well, he was madly in love with the blonde. He had been for years and it had been only about a year since he'd fully accepted it. He had no intention of telling her, or anyone really. He was happy as it was and would rather be just her friend than lose her because he tried for more. The grin that grew on his face went unnoticed by the blonde as she was busy looking anywhere but at him. In a split second decision, however, he decided to hint at it just this once. "I'd have to agree with her."

"What? You...you agree that we'd be a good couple?"

"Yeah!"

"Why?"

"Well I mean we're almost always together anyway. Couples are together almost constantly. And we're really close. Plus your bed is comfy and couples share beds all the time. Which we do," he explained.

"Only because you sneak into my bed when I'm sleeping!"

"But you seem to enjoy my warmth when you're sleeping."

"My room is cold..." she mumbled, not daring to speak any louder in fear her voice would wobble. The words coming from his mouth filled her stomach with butterflies and made her heart act like she had just run a marathon.

"What do you look for in a boy anyway?"

The question was annoyingly similar to Levy's question. Not wanting to describe him like she did to Levy, she decided to describe him in a different way. "You know all those myths and legends and books you read about superheroes and people with superhuman powers?"

"Yeah, of course. What about them?"

"A lot of people want someone who could literally give them the world."

"Is that what you want?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, not at all. I don't care if they have that or not. I just want somebody I can turn to and rely on. I just want the small little moments and big adventures. I want somebody I can kiss."

"So they don't have to be a superhero?"

"If they are loyal, super supportive, and reliable I think that's as many superpowers as they need. Loyalty and reliability are two of the best superpowers." With each word Lucy said, Natsu's hope that she might like him back grew though he'd previously kept it low on purpose. Otherwise her possible rejection would hurt too much."

He didn't know how to respond so he kept silent and willed her to explain even further. "I don't want anyone like Achilles or Hercules and their gold and gifts. I don't want Spiderman, Batman, or Superman. That fairy tale bliss is unnecessary."

"Anything else you _do_ want?"

"Yeah, there is." At this point the two of them had reached Lucy's apartment so she stopped speaking in order to find her keys. When she did and she had the door unlocked, she opened it and motioned him to come inside to which he happily obliged. With the door shut behind them, she continued. "I want someone I can have adventures with. I wanna ask "Where d'you wanna go?" and "How much you wanna risk?"

Looking at Natsu, she saw he was watching her, a look of complete bliss on his face. His onyx eyes were sparkling and he had a lazy grin covering his face. Seeing this, a weird wave of courage came over the blonde so she added, "I want something just like this."

These words seemed to surprise the pinkette yet at the same time, he seemed even happier than he had been moments prior. "Like this?"

Lucy nodded her head. "Yeah, we have amazing adventures all the time and I can always rely on you to back me up, pick me up, and simply be there when I need you to be. You're basically everything I just described."

Natsu couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had convinced himself there was no way Lucy would ever like him back. He could be too brash, loud, and energetic. As she said that, however, he realized that she didn't focus on the bad parts of people. She probably focused on his never-ending loyalty and willingness to do anything for his friends. The words she had used, as she pointed out, could fit perfectly to him and she had even outright said she wanted something like what they had.

His spirits and mood, as a result of this revelation, were higher than ever before and he decided to use it to his advantage, or disadvantage depending on how Lucy responded. "Is that some kind of confession?"

"Confession? What do you mean?" The blonde suddenly seemed just as nervous and fidgety as she had been when Levy first called him over from his fight with Gray.

"What do you think I mean?" Natsu laughed.

"N-no! Of course that's not a c-confession. Why would you thi-"

"Because if it was, I'd gladly say my confession as well," he cut her off.

"Your confession?" she asked to which he responded with a nod. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"If you think I'm saying I like you, then yes."

A shocked yet completely comfortable silence fell over the two of them as Lucy took in the new information. The silence lasted for just a minute before a grin larger than any Natsu had seen on her face before formed. "I never thought you'd like me back."

"So you do like me?" Natsu asked.

"Yes I like you, idiot." With that, the blonde launched herself toward the pinkette and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. He was quick to respond, wrapping his arms around her as well. Neither of them dared to let go for several minutes in fear it was all a dream and they would wake up to the disappointing truth of reality.

When one of them finally pulled away, they both had insanely large grins imprinted on their faces. Less than an hour ago neither would have even imagined the other would like them.

And yet there they were, staring at each other with adoration, their feelings out in the open. They couldn't imagine anything better.

Later in the day, they were casually cuddling on the couch in Lucy's living room. "I know I don't need them, but what if I did have superpowers or something?" Natsu asked suddenly.

"Then you'd be even more awesome."

"Fire. If that was true, my power would definitely be fire."

"I couldn't imagine you with anything else. You _are_ a pyromaniac and it's not like you'd have powers over ice." Snuggling deeper into him, she added, "Plus you definitely have the body heat to match it."

"Ice powers would definitely be Gray. He's too cold for anything else."

"What wold I be?" Lucy asked , looking up at him.

"Well...you love stars probably more than anything else in the world."

"So Celestial powers! Maybe I could summon spirits with some kind of key or something."

"I like it. Fire and Celestial Spirit magic."

"We'd be the best team ever."

"Well duh. No one in the world could beat us."

"Not even Gray or Erza?"

"Especially Gray and Erza."

 **Update! This one is loosely based on** _ **Something Just Like This**_ **by The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay. I wrote that small last part just because I thought it would be kinda cute. Even though usually I hate adding parts that don't really add to the story. I hope you enjoyed it.**


	23. 23: The Best Birthday Present

"Oh this is definitely the one," Lucy decided as she gazed at herself through the mirror.

"I'm with you on that. You look absolutely beautiful. Perfect for tonight," her best friend Levy agreed.

"Remind me again what tonight is for?"

"Your birthday obviously!"

"Lev, my birthday isn't for another week," Lucy pointed out.

"Yeah, but today is the only day all of us are free for, like, the next two weeks," Levy rebuttaled.

"Fine. You win. It'll suck being alone on my birthday," Lucy said as she closed the door of the fitting room to get back into her regular clothes.

"Just another reason to do something today while we can!" Levy called out through the door.

There was no answer, or at least no answer the bookworm could hear. As she waited for Lucy to come back out, she couldn't help the grin that invaded her face as she thought about Lucy's surprise later. Using Lucy's upcoming birthday as an excuse, Levy had been sent on a mission to keep the blonde busy until she was told otherwise.

The blue-haired girl had been told otherwise over half an hour ago but Lucy had been taking her sweet time, thinking there should be no rush since she wanted her birthday dinner dress to be perfect. She only ever sent the best pictures to her fiance and there would be no 'best' if she didn't have the best dress.

So here they were, nearly forty minutes later, still in the same store. Realizing she should send a quick update to Gajeel before Lucy came back out, Levy took out her phone from her purse. Turning her screen on, she quickly put in her password and clicked on Gajeel's name on her texting app.

 _Hey, Lucy's changing out of her chosen dress now. We still need to pay for it but that shouldn't take too long. We'll be there in around twenty minutes. Maybe thirty._

She got a reply almost immediately.

 _hurry. natsu's getting impatient._

Levy sent one more text before she slipped her phone back in its place in her purse.

 _Tell that to Lucy._

Levy settled back into her chair and less than a minute later the fitting room door opened and a normally dressed Lucy came back out, dress and purse in hand. Levy jumped up. "The boys are getting impatient so we should hurry up and pay for the dress."

"Oh alright. Let's go then."

The two girls left the fitting room area and made their way to the checkout, where a pretty lady with dirty blonde hair was standing. Lucy gently set the dress and shoes she had picked out on the counter. The cashier immediately grabbed the shoes and rung them up. "Are these two items all?"

"Yes, thank you."

After ringing up the dress as well, she put the shoes in a small brown paper bag and put the dress in a long plastic bag with a hanger sticking out the end. "That'll be one hundred and nineteen dollars and seventy-fice cents please."

When Lucy went to grab her credit card, Levy was quick to grab her wrist. "Oh no you don't. I'm paying for it."

"But Levy! You've paid for everything else today!"

"That's because it's your birthday," Levy shot back as she handed the cashier her credit card with a smile. "There, it's too late for you to stop me anyway."

With a huff, Lucy mumbled, "Technically it's my birthday in a week."

The cashier handed Levy her card back along with the two bags containing the shoes and dress. "Thank you for shopping at _Dream Dress Dreamland._ Please come again."

"Thank you!" the two girls called as they left.

Once the girls got to their car, they put all the bags from their day of shopping in the back seat save for the dress which was hung up on a hook in the nearly empty truck. Then Lucy got in the front passenger seat and Levy got in the driver's seat. Levy started up the car and left the mall as quickly as what was legally allowed.

"Levy, why are you driving so fast?" Lucy asked, partially afraid for her life.

"I told you. The boy's are getting really impatient. And so is _Erza,_ " the bluenette lied. Erza was far from impatient. Instead she was busy making sure their reservation at Lucy's favorite restuarant was still good despite them being late. "Plus they might cancel the reservation if we take too long. We're already on thin air with that."

"I guess. Just please don't kill me. I want to see Natsu at least once more before I kick the bucket and I can't do that if I end up in the hospital tonight."

"Yeah, yeah."

They made it back to Lucy's house in ten minutes and rushed inside, bags filling both their arms. Not bothering to put away all the items Lucy had bought, they simply threw the bags in a corner and grabbed only what they would need tonight.

"Dresses first. Then Makeup and hair. We only have half an hour to do this so go go go!"

"You change in the bathroom. I'll take my room," Lucy said as she walked toward her bedroom with her new dress in hand." Levy nodded and headed toward the bathroom.

Two minutes later, the girls were both in the bathroom, dresses on, and doing their makeup. Since they were on a tight schedule, they both kept it light and were done within ten minutes. Third was hair which they spent twenty minutes on. Levy straightened hers and Lucy curled hers then put it in a simple half ponytail. Before they put their heels on and grabbed their purses, Levy sent a text to Gajeel telling him they were almost ready and he and everyone else should start heading to the restaurant.

The drive to the restaurant was around half an hour and halfway through it, Levy got a text from Gajeel saying they had gotten their table and it was simply a waiting game for them now. Levy couldn't wait for Lucy to see her surprise so she was driving, again, as fast as the law would allow.

By the time the two got to the right place, she could hardly contain her excitement and keep up the whole 'we all have to work every other day for the next two weeks' act, but she also knew Natsu would kill her if she gave anything away to Lucy so she kept her cool. It took a lot of her self-control to stop herself from rushing Lucy through the doors.

Once she and Lucy were inside and were asked how many people there were, they explained they had a reservation for Lucy Heartfilia and were the last two to arrive. Then they were led to the correct table where Gajeel, Gray, Erza, Juvia, Mira, and Lisanna were sitting. Sitting down in two of the three open seats, they greeted everyone.

"We've all ordered already so you're the only two that haven't," Erza told them. The two simply nodded their heads in acknowledgement. The waitress came back just a few minutes later with the drinks already ordered. After passing those out to the correct people, she took the orders of Levy and Lucy then left, saying all of their food would be their soon.

It took ten minutes but eventually, the waitress had walked back with a waiter behind her Both were carrying a tray filled with food in one of their hands. Gajeel was handed his food first. Then came Erza, Lisanna, Gray, Mira, and Juvia. Levy was next and finally Lucy was given her food. What caught her attenion, however was the plate of food placed next to her in front of the empty seat. Nobody else seemed to notice it so she pointed at it and voiced her question.

"Who's that for?"

At this, everyone seemed to brighten up. "Oh, that's for a surprise guest we brought with us."

Before Lucy could reply, she felt a tap on her shoulder. With confusion flowing through her, she turned around to see who tapped her. When she saw the very familiar grin, onyx eyes, and pink hair, a gasp escaped her and her hands flew up to cover her mouth.

The next thing she knew, an scream of surpise and absolute joy escaped her throat and her legs were pushing her forward. Throwing her arms around Natsu, she felt like the happiest girl in the world. Tears of happiness were already dtreaming down her face.

Natsu was quick to hug her back. "Hey Luce," he whispered in her ear. She responded by hugging him even tighter. As she hugged him, she embraced the familiar and comforting feeling of his warmth and his body against hers. It's been over two years since she'd seen him in person and she wasn't about to let him go so quickly.

The hug lasted over five minutes. Nobody complained and nobody said anything. They were all too overjoyed for the pair reunited. All of them had goofy grins on their faces and a few of them had to wipe away a few tears that escaped them.

When Lucy finally pulled away, she kept her hands on him and simply stared at him. "You're back," she whispered, her voice failing to get any louder.

"I'm back for you," he replied back, taking in her chocolate brown eyes again.

"You're not supposed to be back for another six months." She couldn't believe he was finally standing in front of her again.

"That was a lie. I wanted to surprise you."

"You certainly succeeded," she said.

"Good."

She couldn't help but hug him again. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too. I missed you more than anything else I've ever missed. These two years have been terrible," Natsu told her completely truthfully.

When they pulled away from this hug, Natsu noticed her tears had slowed so he wiped them away. "Now, no more crying. It's time to celebrate your twenty-seventh." Then he pulled her in for a long kiss. It was passionate yet slow. They both wanted to savor it for as long as they could and neither liked the thought of pulling apart but eventually their need for air overtook their want and they pulled away.

It was then that Natsu's stomach growled. "Guess it's time to stop this standing around and start eating our food," he said to Lucy.

Feeling her own hunger, Lucy nodded. "I agree." Removing herself completely from him, she sat back down in her seat. Natsu sat next to her and quickly attached his hand to hers. With his other, he immediately started shoving food in his mouth.

Lucy held his hand tight as she ate and talked to everybody. There was no way she was letting him go. Not when she had been away from him for so long and missed him so much. Natsu was glad she wouldn't let him go because he didn't want to let her go either. Most of his free time across the water in Alvarez was spent thinking about her, writing her letters, and talking to his army friends about her.

In his time there, everyone he had met was quick to learn about her and they all knew how deeply in love he was with her. They teased him and messed with him about it but he knew they were all secretly jealous of him. None of them had found love like he had. He knew what he had wasn't something to take lightly and especially not for granted.

Throughout the whole dinner, both of them were thanking everything holy for the fact they were finally reunited.

* * *

Later that day, the two of them were alone on Lucy's couch. The T.V was on but it wasn't being watched by either of them. Natsu was too busy taking in the feeling of her head against his chest again and breathing in her amazing scent. Lucy was too busy relishing in the warmth of his weirdly high body temperature, the feeling of his breathing, and the sound of his steady heartbeat.

It was comfortably quiet in the house until Lucy finally opened her mouth. "Thank you."

"For what?" he asked as he gazed at her.

Sitting up and opening her eyes to look at him, she smiled. "For being the best birthday present I've gotten."

A grin grew on Natsu's face as he registered her words. "It's my pleasure," he replied, leaning his forehead against hers.

"You're not gonna leave me again, are you?" she asked.

"Oh Mavis no, Luce. I'd have to be absolutely crazy for me to leave you again. From this point on, I'm going to stay by your side," he reassured her. Lifting up her hand, she pointe to the ring on her finger and the one on his. "I gave you that ring three years ago and soon we'll seal the deal they started."

Her eyes growing wide, she couldn't believe what he was saying. "You mean you want to get married as soon as possible?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. I've left you waiting for long enough and the planning process is going to take forever so it's best to do it as soon as posible."

"Oh Natsu, I love you so damn much," she said as she wrapped her arms around him in another one of the many hugs they'd already shared.

"I love you too Lucy. From the farthest known universe from ours and back ten million times." Just then, Lucy yawned and she noticed the burning in her eyes caused by exhaustion. "I think it's time for you to sleep."

Lucy just nodded in response and was about to stand up when Natsu grabbed her and scooped her into his arms. "I'll carry you. You just relax."

Not wanting to argue and loving the feel of his warmth, she rested her head against him and closed her eyes. She heard the light switch flip and saw the darkness envelop the room through her eyelids. Then she heard the sound of her bedroom door opening in front of her and closing behind her. Just a few seconds later, she felt Natsu's warmth leave her as he set her on the bed. "No, don't leave me," she pleaded.

She heard him chuckle in response. "Calm down, Luce. I'm just gettin' out of these clothes. Then I'll be back."

Snuggling into the blankets, she waited impatiently for his return. She listened to the sounds of him shuffling around and his clothes falling down on the floor. She noticed the darkness that suddenly overtook the room as he turned the lights off. Finally, she felt the bed dip beside her, the covers on the other side lift, and his arm slide around her waist and pull her closer to him.

With his warmth returned, a small smile appeared on her face and she snuggled into him. "Night Natsu. I love you."

"I love you too, Luce. Now of to sleep with you. And sweet dreams." As a final touch, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. It apparently worked because just a moment later, she felt reality slipping away.

The only thing on her mind was the hapiness of her beloved military man finally returning to her from across the sea. She couldn't have been happier as the last of her consciousness faded away and sleep wrapped her up in its embrace.

* * *

 **Another update so quick? Crazy right? Yeah. I was just going through YouTube when I stumbled upon the 'soldier coming home surprise' videos and after some emotional videos, I felt the inspiration flowing through my veins. Of course I'm not going to waste that so here I am finishing this up and 1:30 in the morning. Good thing tomorrow-No, today-is Sunday and I don't have a thing to do. I hope you enjoyed this!**


	24. 24: I'll Be Watching

A smile crept up my face as I looked at the letter in the mail. The white of the paper had been tainted with dirt and dust but that was the last thing on my mind. It had been three weeks since I had seen my husband's writing. It had taken longer than it usually did. Two weeks had been about the longest it usually took.

I'm thankful it was just a delay in delivery. Where he is, it could be much worse and these letters mean the world to me. Each new word-or, hell, even each and every letter that make the words- he writes for me makes me feel closer to him and soothes my aching heart.

The smile stays firmly in place as I tear open the letter and take out the crumpled and dirty piece of lined paper. This letter is longer than what he usually writes, almost as if he knew it would be delivered late and was making up for it with a few extra paragraphs.

 _My dear Luce,_

 _I know I tell you this every time I write to you but I just have to say it every time. I miss you so much and my love for you still grows with each passing day. My free time these days is spent daydreaming about my return to you and our babies. Speaking of them, tell them I love them and miss them. Give both of them a few kisses for me too. Make sure they know Daddy sends his love. I know they need to hear it._

 _Tell them I love them with all my heart. Tell them the three of you are what matter most. I came up with some ideas on what to tell them next time they ask where I am. You told me how curious they've been getting about why Daddy hasn't been home in a real long time so I stayed up late and brainstormed ways to ease them._

 _Tell our little spirited and loud Nashi that I'm being brave and fighting off some really bad guys. tell her that there are some bad people out in the world trying to steal Happy from us so they can give him a magic potion that will make him as big as a giant and make him an evil little cat that knocks over and rips everything up but won't go near any runaway mice. With her wild imagination, there's no way she won't believe it. I would believe it if I were her._

 _Thinking of something little Igneel would believe was a lot harder but I thought up something eventually. Since he's the brain of the two and thinks more logically like you instead of imaginatively like me, tell him I'm out on a long adventure to bring home some extra money and some exotic food. He'll obviously be suspicious if you leave it at just that since he knows I'd never just leave like that so say Aunt Erza made me because she thought it was a good idea. Aunt Erza is never wrong and I'd have no problem going on an adventure if she scared me into it. He knows that. It'll make sense to his young mind._

 _There's no words to explain how much I miss you guys. Just another six months and I'l be free. In half a year I'll be released and I won't be called back. Once these months are through, I promise I'll come back and never leave again. If this is excruciatingly hard for me, I can only imagine how difficult it is for you and the kids. I'm still so sorry for ever putting you through this. You deserve a husband that's there for you. I promise to be that husband as soon as I get back home where I belong._

 _I guess I should give you the updates you love getting for whatever reason. It's been getting harder over here. There have been more attacks on my area lately so it's been a lot more hectic. A lot of the others are on edge almost all the time. Well, we're all on edge, but there are a few that are extremely on edge. Before you freak out, I'm being extra careful. I never go anywhere with my weapons and I always have them close. I'm not taking any chances. Leaving you now would be the worst crime I could ever commit._

 _I have to go now but I'll be waiting (might I say extremely impatiently) for your next letter to arrive. Tell me how telling the kids where I am went and their response. I hope it's good. Helping you out with the kids even that tiny amount would really help make me feel better. Remember Lucy, I love you to the edge of the galaxy and back ten thousand times. I love the kids to infinity and beyond. Please keep telling that. I feel as if they need the reminder. I'll talk to you later. Until then, bye._

 _With all the love in the world, Your loving husband, Natsu_

Folding the letter back up, I held it tightly against my chest, trying desperately to push back the tears threatening to spill. Thankful the kids were still at school when the tears started to fall anyway, I let out a few sobs. That had been one of his longest letters but I knew he would write so much more if he could. He simply doesn't have the time.

Mavis knows how much I wished he did.

* * *

It'd been over three months since Natsu's last letter arrived. It had been driving me crazy and the nightmares had successfully clawed their way into my mind at night. It had never taken him this long to get back to me. It doesn't help that I'd been hearing some terrible things on the news. Things like the war with Alvarez getting harder with each week, how the casualty rate had gone up, and how desperate Fiore has gotten. All I could do is hope and pray that Natsu isn't part of that raise in casualties.

Hiding my distress from the kids was getting more and more difficult with each passing day. Sometimes I had to lock myself in my room for hours before I was able to go out and face them without tearing up. I know they could tell something was wrong. I know they'd become worried. I know they'd pieced together that it had something to do with their father.

I was on the couch, quietly reading a book as I waited for school to end so I could pick the kids up. My reading was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Putting my bookmark in its place and setting the book on the coffee table, I stood up and walked to the door.

My heart stopped when I saw who was standing there. I knew something had happened immediately. I could feel it in my gut. The man was wearing his uniform, his face was solemn, and his eyes full of pity. There was a letter in one hand while his other was free of any objects but was tightly clenched.

"Mrs. Lucy Dragneel, correct?" I could tell this was hard for him to say by the thickness of his voice. I simply nodded my head, not trusting my own voice. He lifted his hand up so he was holding the letter out to me. I took it with shaky hands and opened it. My eyes scanned over it quickly and I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces. "I'm sorry to tell you but your husband, Natsu Dragneel, died in battle."

My voice shaking, I looked at the soldier standing in front of me. "H-how did he..."

"His division and a few others had been ambushed, leaving all of them trapped and under heavy fire. I was one of the ones with him. All but one radio was destroyed and the attack and that only radio had been flung out in the open somehow but it was the only form of communication we had. There were about fifty of us in total and all of us were relying on that radio. He was the closest to it and the fastest of us too. So he ran out to get it and he successfully brought it back to us but not without injuries. He had been shot once in the leg, arm, and torso. The one in his torso barely missed his heart." He paused for a moment. "He survived for a few days but ultimately, there was too much damage. He died a hero. All of us, all fifty of us, would have been goners if it hadn't been for your husband. There's no doubt in my mind he'll get a great spot on Magnolia's Alvarez memorial."

"Just like him...S-so damn loyal," I whisper. As hard as I tried, my voice refused to go any higher than that.

"Ma'am, he was my best friend there. Before he died, he gave me this letter." The man reached to his back pocket and then showed me the letter he had retrieved from it. "He asked specifically for me to come tell you. He didn't want the news to come from some stranger."

"He's al-always been s-so th-thoughtful." Grabbing the letter from the man, I gently opened it up. His handwriting was much sloppier than it usually was.

 _My beloved Princess Lucy,_

 _Forgive me for breaking my promise. It won't be much longer before I leave. Please, oh Mavis please, never forget how much I love you and make sure the kids know it too but don't stop living life because of me. I know it will be hard and it will take time but you need to continue living as if I were still there with you. The kids. Baby, the kids will need you more than ever now but don't forget about yourself. Stay strong for the kids but when you're alone and it's dark, don't hold your sadness back. Releasing it will help you move on. I don't have much strength left to write so I must leave but I must say this first. I love you, Nashi, and Igneel more than anything I've ever loved before and I want the best for all of you. So please, my dying wish is that you laugh, smile, and live for me. Do those three things and I'll be happy. I love you, Lucy. Goodbye._

 _With all the love in the universe and galaxy, Your caring dragon Natsu_

 _P.S: Be brave, my love, and accept the help of others. I'll be watching_

By the time I had read every word, tears were pouring from my eyes. My heart felt like it had been stabbed, scratched, torn, burned, and pulled out. The man, Natsu's best army friend, was still standing there. "I-I k-know this might sound a l-little w-weird but could you give me a h-hug? I r-really n-need o-one if I'm s-supposed to a-act strong for the k-kids l-later."

"Not weird at all. It's normal." He lifted his arms up and kept them open. I fell into them right away. As I cried into him, he ran his hands comfortingly through my hair. Of course it would never be as good as when Natsu did it but it would do. "You know, in our free time, all Natsu did was talk about you, Nashi, and Igneel. The three of you were his reason to fight and stay alive. He did it all for you."

"H-he's fought with a-all his heart for the o-ones he c-cared about s-since before I can r-remember."

"You should hold your head up high for him. Anybody would be lucky to have the love of him."

As the tears slowed, I pulled away from the hug. "I will. I'll make sure my kids and I carry his last name with unmatched love and pride." My voice was suddenly steady, the shock and despair in my heart replaced with love, strength, and pride for him at least temporarily. Glancing at my phone, I realize Nashi and Igneel only have an hour of school left.

Knowing they need to know about their father, I decided they could miss a single hour. So with a small sigh, I look back up at the man. "The kids need to know. I have to pick them up from school now. But thank you for granting him his wish for you to tell me."

"It's the least I could do for you at a time like this, Lucy."

"Well, you still have my gratitude, Mr..."

"Fullbuster. My name is Gray Fullbuster. Please just call me Gray. It's what Natsu would want."

"Of course. Please visit anytime you'd like from now on, Gray."

After a few more sentence exchanges, Gray has left and I'm putting on some shoes back inside. A few minutes more and I'm on the way to school. The whole way there my mind is whirring as I try to plan out how I'm possibly going to tell the kids their father will never return home.

I'd already called the school and gave them a vague explanation of want I needed and why so the two of them should be outside the school waiting by the time I get there. I was correct. It's easy to spot the pink of Nashi's hair as soon as I turn the corner and it's only another split second before I noticed the blonde hair of Igneel right beside her.

As I came to a stop in front of the school, the two make their way toward me. They both quietly slip into the backseat. They already knew it couldn't be good that I was picking them up early. They knew I only picked them up early if it was extremely important. They had only missed school or left it early for reasons other than sickness twice before. Once to Lucy's father had died and the other when their father was leaving them to go to the place he had taken his last breath not too long ago. Now, for their third time, it was because of another family death. Not only that but one of the worst kinds of family death, a father dying to leave his wife widowed and his children with the father figure they need in their life.

Once the car door is closed and the car is moving once more, Nashi voices the question on the minds of both children. "Mommy, why are we leaving early?"

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I replied to her with a calm tone that outwardly conveyed the exact opposite of what I was feeling. "Be patient, Nashi. I have some news but I can't tell you here. I have to wait until we get home."

The ride was quiet, filled with the silence of unvoiced thoughts. When we get home, the silence remains as we get out of the car and walk to the front door. The silence breaks only once the kids are seated on the couch in the living room with me in a chair in front of them. "Can you tell us what happened now, Mommy?" Igneel asks, his voice even quieter than usual.

After a deep breath, I nodded my head and looked at the two of them. "It's about Daddy."

"Daddy? What about him? Is he coming home?" At that thought, both their faces light up with grins. I shake my head quickly. "No, he's not coming home."

At that, their grins fade and they wait for me to explain further. "Your dad...Natsu...He's...Not coming home."

"We know that Mommy. He's gonna be gone for a long, long time," Igneel says.

"No, that's what I mean."

"What d'you mean then?" Nashi asks.

"While you were still at school, a nice man came to visit me. He told me that he was your daddy's best friend back where Daddy is now. But he came with sad news. He told me Daddy's going to stay away and we're never gonna see him again."

"Do...do you mean like...what happened with Grandpa Jude?" Igneel's question hit the spot for me and I couldn't stop a tear from sliding down my cheek.

"Yes, baby. Daddy's where Grandpa is."

"Does that mean we're gonna have ta have that sad party with black clothes again for Daddy like we did for Grandpa?"

"It does. Yeah, we're going to have one of those but he'll get a special one. The place he left for is very dangerous and everyone who goes there gets a special party for their bravery."

"What's this special party like?" Nashi asked.

"Well, it's a lot like the one for Grandpa was but his name will be engraved in a special stone just for him and there might be some planes there."

"Planes?"

"Yeah, they might fly over our heads."

"Oh cool!" Nashi shouted.

"You guys want to go to that, right?" Both nodded their heads.

"Definitely!"

"I want ta make Daddy's farewell party the best an' it can't be the best without us there!"

More tears pricked at my eyes as I pulled my two kids into a tight embrace. "Good. That's good. He would be very happy to hear that."

* * *

The sun was out and shining but it didn't do a thing to warm the air. Despite the cloudless, bright sky and shine of the sun, the air was freezing. A large group was standing in front of the evergrowing wall of names. More specifically, however, they were standing in front of a smaller section: one dedicated to those that gave their life in exchange for the conservation of many other lives. My children and I were among the group.

I was dressed in a simple black dress that went down to my knees. It had a sweetheart neckline and small straps to hold it up. Upon closer inspection, it was possible to see a complex flower design stitched into the dress though it was basically unnoticable with a single glance. Nashi was wearing a black dress with short sleeves and red hearts along the bottom hem. Igneel was wearing a simple gray button up shirt and black dress pants. At that moment, everyone was silent but the one they were listening to, Gray.

"Natsu was obnoxious, annoying, and a loudmouth. I would constantly get into useless fights with him and he was about as troublesome as an angry four-year-old throwing a fit because he doesn't want to go downstairs to get the ice cream he so desperately wants. But he was also the most loyal man I've ever met. From the very beginning, he was there for all of us. He would put everything on the line for us and was never afraid to take a stand for us. He loved harder than all of us combined as well. The way he would constantly talk about his wife and children back home and never run out of things to say was amazing to say the least. I could practically see the love radiating from him whenever he spoke about those three. He was always telling us they were his reason to fight, his reason to live, and his reason to smile. Just the thought of them could put a huge grin on his face. He was a brave man willing to lose everything he had for the ones he cared about." Gray's eyes swept through the crowd.

"I guess that was his downfall in the end as well. If he wasn't like that, he wouldn't have run out into the open when we were being heavily attacked to retrieve our only chance at comunication and survival. He wouldn't have gotten shot three times, one bullet barely missing his heart, or spent days in a hospital bed as his body did everything it could possibly do to save him. But if he wasn't like that, I suppose his life would have been less meaningful. That was what made him special afterall. When it came down to it, he was a loyal man through and through. If it hadn't been for him, I can almost garuantee I wouldn't be standing here today and those other 48 soldiers wouldn't be alive either. He ran out into that open space fully knowing he wouldn't make it back without serious damage if at all but he still did it because he would rather give up his one life for all of ours than keep his and let us die. He was my best friend and partner over there." He paused as his eyes met mine.

"I was right next to him before he sprinted out there. Before he ran out, he turned to me and told me something. He said, and I quote, 'Gray, when you get back home, tell my Luce I did it for her, Nashi, and Igneel. Make sure she knows I did it for the well-being of everyone I care for. And you, Gray, just know you're my best friend and partner. Remember all the pointless fights that ended in laughs, not this bloodshed that brought us together. Tell Luce, my kids, and everyone else including yourself that I'm doing this for them.'" As he ended, tears started streaming down my face as I held the hands of my children tighter.

"I guess that's all I have to say. Just on time too. It's time for the flyover. It's called the Missing Man. You'll find out why in a second," he adds quickly.

Just a few seconds later, four planes came into view. The middle two were slightly ahead of the outside two. We all watched as they drew closer and soon enough, they were right above out heads. That was when the plane on the very left strayed off course, heading away from the other three going straight forward. My eyes flickered between the three and the one. The three were the first to disappear but the single one, the missing man, disappeared from view a few mere seconds later.

Once it was gone, I looked down at the kids and saw tears streaming down their faces as well. They didn't fully understand what death was or why the flyover was so emotional but they understood enough to feel the sadness in the air.

I'm gonna miss Daddy," Igneel said.

"Me too. I'll never forget him." Nashi agreed.

Kneeling down, I brought them both into a hug. "No, we're never ever going to forget him. We're going to smile for him and laugh for him. We're going to say our last name with pride and tell everyone we meet that it originally belonged to an amazing man and we're going to tell them all about him. We're going to continue loving him even if he's not here to return it. Right?" Both of them nodded vigorously.

A few minutes later, the three of us were standing right in front of the wall neatly engraved with 'Natsu E. Dragneel- A man of love, gave his life to save around 50 others.'

After staring at it for many minutes, I looked up at the sky. "Fly free up there, my dragon, away from the terror and bloodshed. I'll forever love you."

* * *

 **Alrighty! A sad one. I got the idea for this one while listening to Traveling Soldier by Dixie Chicks (And a few other war/soldier related songs). I was originally going to base it completely off the song but decided to try this later on when I thought about my great grandpa who was a pilot during WWII. The idea for the memorial was taken from the memorial he had when he died back in 2013. The Missing Man airplane thing was an actual thing that happened. I can't remember if it was three or four planes though so I just went with four. Also, I know Natsu doesn't have a middle name but I wanted him to have one for this so I just gave him the middle initial of my great grandpa. I hope this turned out as good as I would like to believe it did so I hope you enjoyed it!**


	25. 25: Left Not Quite Alone

"Damn it. Lucy, I have to leave for a bit."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, we're just out of...everything. It's been awhile since we've been grocery shopping," Gray explains. This causes Lucy to giggle as she nods her head.

"Somehow that's not surprising at all," she says through her laughing.

"Oh shut up," Gray demands as he slips his shoes on.

"Just hurry up so we can continue our movie marathon."

"Will do. What are you gonna do while I'm gone?" he asks.

Lucy replies with a shrug and motioning toward her bag leaning against the wall with her head. "Probably finish something for work," Lucy answers.

"Alright." Grabbing his wallet and car keys, Gray opens the front door before turning back around to face the blonde. "And if Flamebrain bothers you while I'm gone, don't be afraid to call me so I can beat his ass."

With another small laugh, Lucy nods her head and waves her hand. "Alright, if you say so. Now shoo, I want some food and it's not going magically appear with you standing here."

"Alright, alright, fine. I'm going. See ya."

"Bye!"

With that, Gray steps out of the apartment and shuts the door behind him, leaving Lucy alone in the living room. With him gone, she lets out a sigh and stands up causing the blanket on top of her to fall on the floor. Not bothering to pick it up, she walks over to her bag, picks it up, and walks back over to the couch.

After sitting down and putting the blanket back in its place covering her, she opens the bag and takes out her notebook and other papers she needs. Going straight into work mode, she starts working, her mind lost to the paper in front of her and her sense of the world around her gone.

Less than two minutes later, a person enters the room from down the hallway where they came from. Noticing her and nobody else, he stops and stares at her. He knows exactly who she is but he has no idea why she's here. When he heard the front door open and close, he had assumed it was her leaving but he now knows he was wrong.

That's what is confusing him. Gray never leaves her alone when she's here. He for some reason is convinced something bad would happen if he left her and his housemate alone together. As he stands there, his confusion washes away to be replaced with longing.

He'd been home for the majority of his visits and though he usually stayed in his room during those times, he'd leave it every once in a while in hopes he'd encounter her. Well, at least that's how it was now. When she'd first started coming, their encounters and exchanges were completely accidental. But as time went on and they had more of them, he found himself purposely setting them up. It wasn't long before he had realized he liked this girl despite all their conversations being short and fleeting.

Finally snapping out of his thoughts, he realizes he's been watching her for nearly five minutes. So, shaking his head, he starts walking toward the kitchen, the reason he'd left his room to begin with. When he gets there, he grabs a bag of chips and a Moutain Dew. There isn't much else.

He walks back into the living room. Lucy had yet to notice him but there's no way he's going to let this chance to talk to her without Gray hovering over her shoulder go to waste. It's most likely a once in a lifetime chance. "Where's Gray?"

The two word question is all it takes to throw Lucy back into the real world. Looking up from her work, she sees him standing there, an unopened Mountain Dew between his arm and side and an open bag of spicy chips in hand. The hand not holding the bag is inside the bag. "Huh?"

"Gray. Where is he?"

"Oh, uh, he just went to buy some groceries real quick since you don't have much else," Lucy explains. He simply nods in acknowledgement. Expecting him to leave, she turns back to her work.

"So that means we're alone here?"

Turning back to him, she just stares at him, her mouth open in surprise. This doesn't go unnoticed and after a few minutes of her staring, he chuckles. "I didn't expect that to be such as difficult question."

This snaps her out of her staring and realizing what she was doing, a blush creeps onto her face. "Oh, sorry. I just didn't expect you to continue talking to me."

"Why not?"

She shrugs in reply. "I dunno. You're just always in your room whenever I'm here."

"That's because Gray doesn't trust me with anything. Especially not the best friend he sees as his very own sister. He says I'll set you on fire."

"Fire? Why does he think that?"

There's a slight pause. "Probably because I've accidentally set multiple things on fire before," he says with a sheepish grin.

"I sure hope none of those 'multiple things' were people."

"None besides myself," he informs her.

"No wonder he calls you a pyromaniac whenever he mentions you," Lucy mumbles. "How do you manage to set everything on fire anyway?"

He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. "I like fire but fire likes spreading."

"From what I've heard, it's a miracle you haven't burned down this apartment yet."

"I know how to control a fire. It's when I expiriment that gets me in trouble. I'm actually very good with fire and all the pyrotechnics."

"Are you sure you're not just being overly confident when you say that?" Lucy asks with a teasing tone.

"I know I'm not just overly confident. You can't fake being a professional pyrotechnician."

"You're a professional pyrotechnician?"

He nods his head. "Yep."

"Is it dangerous?"

"It's definitely not something you want to mess with if you don't have much knowledge of it. If you want really dangerous though, you should talk to a friend of mine and Gray. His name is Laxus and he's an electrician. More specifically, he installs and repairs powerlines."

"Oh wow."

"Yeah, that job has made it onto a few of the 'Most dangerous jobs' lists."

"Sounds...dangerous."

Natsu nods as a laugh escapes him. "Definitely. But enough about that. Tell me something about you," he demands as he walks over and sits down next to her, putting his snack and drink on the table in the process.

"Me? What do you want to know?"

"Well since I told you my job, you should tell me yours."

"I'm an astronomist.

"Isn't that the stuff with zodiac signs and things?"

"Close. You're thinking of astrology."

"What's the difference?"

"Astronomy, what I do, is the study of celestial objects and occurences. Astrology is the study of the movements and behaviors of celestial objects to help understand human affairs and events. Understand?"

"Sort of."

"Basically astronomy is when you study stars and other things in space. Astrology is when you study the positions and movements of stars and other things in space to explain why things are the way they are with us, humans. Astronomy is what determines the sun is a typical main-sequence dwarf star at around 4.6 billion years old. Astrology determines people born on September 4th worry a lot and are shy but also faithful," Lucy explains.

"Okay, I get it now. What do you do as an astro...nomist?"

"Well, I specialize in stellar astronomy. That's the study of stars and stellar evolution."

"So you're a scientist that studies stars."

"Yes, in the most basic definition."

"What's on all those papers then?" Natsu asks as he motions to the papers with a tilt of his head.

"Oh, those are all just notes of some observations my team and I have made in the past few months," Lucy answers. Then with a sigh she leans back. "I think we've talked too much about work. Let's switch subjects."

Natsu nods his head in agreement. "Are you ticklish?"

This catches Lucy's attention and she looks at him suspiciously, her eyes squinted. Then she cautiously nods her head. "Yeah. Why?"

When a mischevious grin grows on Natsu's face, she knows she has made a terrible mistake. This is only confirmed when he suddenly launches forward, his fingers immediately going to work on their torture method. Lucy falls backward as she laughs and Natsu has to lean over her to continue the torturing.

As her laughs and pleading for him to stop ring through the room, the grin stays planted firmly on his face. "Pl-please! I...I'm gonna...L-Lu-Lucy...kick...you!"

"I'm terrified," he jokes through his own laugh.

"Y-you should...b-be! M-my Lucy k-kick...is...d-dangerous!"

At this point, Lucy is squirming around so much, it's hard for Natsu to tickle her. Her squirming around moves her closer to the edge of the couch though it's gradual enough that it goes unnoticed until she's half off the couch.

By the time she has enough breath to tell Natsu she's going to fall so he needs to stop, it's too late and she slips off. Her butt hits the ground first, followed by her back and head. Her legs are the last to hit the ground. The blanket, still tangled up in her legs, goes down with her.

Natsu, quick to react, is on the ground and going back to the torturing within a few seconds, though one hand is used to pull the blanket away and throw it to the side before joining the other in the torture. Her uncontrollable laughter is back instantly. Finally having enough of it, she howls out one last sentence in hopes of getting him to stop. "N-natsu! If...if you d-don't stop r-right t-this instant...I'm gonna...p-pee myself!"

Not knowing if she's serious or not, he takes the time to decide without stopping. He doesn't want to stop but he also certainly doesn't want to be the cause of such an embarassing event. Not to mention it would get all over the floor and neither Gray nor him will ever want to deal with that. Finally, he decides to risk it for just another few seconds. "Alright, fine. Soon."

Thankful it'll stop soon, she clings on to that thought and does her best to ignore the aching of her ribs and lungs. After a few more seconds of the laughter he finds addicting, he stops and leans back so he's no longer over her.

The laughter ceases immediately and is replaced with the sound of desperate breathing. He can't help laughing at her. Hearing his laugh, she shoots him a glare. Two minutes pass before she finally sits up from her lying down position on the floor. The first thing she notices once she sits up is Natsu's pout. "You lied about having to pee."

"Only because I would lie than feel the ache of my ribs for a week after this."

"A week is a little dramatic, don't you think?"

"Attacking a girl you barely know with tickles to the point she has to threaten you with her pee is a little rude, don't you think?" she shoots back.

"I know you enough from our encounters, Luce."

"Luce?"

"My new nickname for you. Like it?" he asks.

She opens her mouth to say no but once she sees the bright, hopeful look in his eyes matched with his gleeful grin, she finds herself nodding. "I love it."

"Great!" She can feel the excitement radiating from him and she knows she must have a stupid grin on her face as well.

Getting up from the floor, she plops back down on the comfortable couch, leaving the blanket on the ground since she doesn't feel cold anymore. "That was fun. We should do it again sometime," Natsu suggests.

"No, we should _not_ do that _ever_ again. That was literally torturous."

"Oh c'mon Luce. It wasn't that bad."

"Not to you. You loved it."

"You're right about that." And just like that, he attacks her again. This time instead of just squirming, she slaps and bats at him in hopes she'll be able to hit him off her. Much to her disappointment, it seems like it doesn't affect him in the slightest. He just chuckles at her efforts.

He only keeps it up for a few minutes this time but when he pulls away, she's somehow more relieved than she was the first time. She's also more angry. So before she even has her breath back, she's quick to give him a good kick.

"Ow! What was that for?" he asks as he gently rubs the spot she kicked.

"I told you I would give you a Lucy Kick."

"It hurt."

"You own fault." Then she falls back and completely relaxes against the couch. "We should hang out sometime," she says before she realizes what she's doing. When she does realize it, she finds she doesn't care anyway.

Her sentence causes a satisfied grin to form on his face as he leans back against the couch.

Neither of them notice when Gray walks back in and stops when he sees the two of them. All he knows is he doesn't like the look of it. Lucy is breathing hard with her hair messed up and a smile on her face, Natsu is leaning back against the couch with a satisfied grin, and the blanket is abandoned on the floor. "What's going on here?"

Both Lucy and Natsu shoot into straight sitting positions, eyes darting over to Gray. "Natsu attacked me," Lucy informs him.

"Attacked you how?" Gray's voice is firm.

"Not anything bad if that's what you're thinking. He attacked me with tickles."

"And I must say, it was hilarious," Natsu adds.

"So you both enjoyed yourselves?"

"Yeah, as much as I could with my ribs aching from laughing."

"Definitely."

"Good," Gray said.

Then Natsu stands up and grabs the food and drink he had previously forgotten about. "Well, I'll go leave you two alone." He starts walking away but before he exits the room, he turns back around. "We should do this again sometime, Luce." Then he's gone.

"Luce? I hope you gave him permission for that nickname."

"I did," Lucy confirmed. Standing up, she walks over to Gray who's still holding a bunch of grocery bags. "Here, I'll take these. You go get whatever else is left."

"Thanks Lucy." She simply nods in reply.

When all the groceries are put away, Gray and Lucy sit down on the couch together. "So what exactly happened while I was gone?" he asks curiously.

"He came in and asked where you were so I told him. We got to talking, had a conversation about our jobs, and then he tickle attacked me. Twice."

"That's it?" Lucy nods. "You seemed pretty comfortable with each other."

This causes Lucy to cock her head to the side in thought. "Yeah, I guess we were," she decides.

"Do you like him?"

Without hesitation, Lucy nods. "Yep."

"I'll make sure to leave you alone in here more often then," Gray smirks. "So you're alone but not quite."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

 **New update! After updating _Golden Rose of Summer_ , I still had plenty of inspiration to write so I decided to finish this one-shot I had started. All of it minus the first 686 words were written in this one sitting. I hope you enjoyed this one because I certainly enjoyed writing it. I was really feeling the happy, lighthearted mood of this one today. So, yeah. Bye!**


	26. 26: Kiss It Better

Onyx eyes bore into cold concrete walls. To him, that's everything the world was. Those concrete walls had been his only constant companion since his first day in that cell and they eventually became the only thing he saw. As time went on, the metal bars faded away along with the very bed he sat on, the guards keeping watch outside, and the yelling of all the other inmates.

After the day his world fell apart, his eyes lost any color they held before and what had once been his signature grin was nothing but a faint memory of those who used to know him. Every single day since then he'd been living a nightmare. He dreams at night consist of only that day. His thoughts consist of only that day in the daytime. The only thing he sees other than that concrete wall is the ghost of what he lost.

Laying down on his bed, he covers his head with the pillow, his eyes squeezed shut.

 _"Lucy! No, no you can't leave me Luce!" Tears streaming down his face, he's by her side almost instantly. The ring of the gunshot is still alive in his ears and mind._

 _"Natsu..."_

 _"Luce, no, don't talk. Save your strength," he orders._

 _"Kiss it all better, Natsu." Her voice is strong despite the blood oozing out of her. Every ounce of her remaining strength is put into her current words._

 _"You're going to be okay, Luce. We're gonna be okay and the man who did this is gonna be put away for a long, long time," he says, though it's obvious he's not so sure of those words himself._

 _"I'm not ready...not ready to go."_

 _"You're not going to go. I'm not allowing it. I couldn't live with myself. All my fault."_

 _"It's not...Not your fault, love. You didn't...couldn't...couldn't know..." Despite her desperate trying, talking is getting harder with each word. The pain still wracks through her body. The bullet sure hit her good._

 _He can't help but notice her usually warm hands are freezing cold. Leaning down, he kisses her forehead, then her cheek, followed by her other cheek, and finally her lips. With one more kiss on the top of her head, he says, "Everything will be alright." Her hair muffles the words slightly._

 _Suddenly, in one split second, she's gone. The last of her remaining strength seeps through her skin into the air. Her eyes close, a breath escapes her lips, and her body falls limp._

 _That's the moment his world falls apart._

 _With tears in his eyes and streaminf down his face, anger surges through his body. Gently laying her down on the ground, he stands up, eyes wild and heart on fire. The glint of sunlight on an abandoned gun catches his eyes._

 _In his blind rage, he picks it up and runs. He doesn't know where to go so he just runs. When he catches sight of the bastard that caused it, an evil look no one, not even himself, knew he posessed spreads across his face._

 _There was more than one gunshot that night._

Jolting awake, he let out a strangled cry. It was familiar to him by that point. The people in the cells next to him had long since learned to block it out. So far he's served the minimum amount of years sentenced to him. It's been twenty-five years since that night and yet it still plagues his every breath. He wouldn't mind staying there for the maximum of the sentence. It would mean he could spend the rest of his days in this cell. He wouldn't have to deal with any regular civilians if he served the lifetime portion of 25 to life.

If only she could be in his arms while he did it. But she's not. He's serving his time without her warmth spreading through him.

He couldn't bring her back with a bullet to the heart of the back of a man who tore his world apart.

Her last words still rang through his ears as he hold on to the memory. He holds on tightly to the memory of her and their would've-been child.

With one last sigh, he laid back down and closed his eyes. "Stay with me until I fall asleep." The words were directed toward the ghost of her, who was standing over him, that beautiful smile gracing her lips. Her smile was engraved in his mind. "Please stay with me."

The night that got him in the cell had been the fifth anniversary of his marriage with her. She had been eight months pregnant with their child. He had lost the most important two girls in his life that night. That's what really tore him up.

"Please, stay with me until I fall asleep. I need you, my beautiful Lucy and my wonderful Nashi."

* * *

 **Okay, so this is a really short one at just over 800 words but I wanted to write it. It's based off Kiss It Better by He Is We. While the song mentions nothing about her being pregnant, I decided I wanted to throw that in their to add an extra sad element to it. This was written pretty quickly because it's my brother's birthday today (turning 20) so I've been with family for a while. I'm actually uploading really quickly before I have to go back down for more family games. So yeah. Hope you enjoy it!**


	27. 27: Reunion

Natsu and Lucy stood together, right inside the door of the high school that held so many memories. The place was packed full of adults they had known for years yet at the same time it seemed to be full of completely different people. Everyone had grown and changed. Instead of them being seperated into groups of populars and non-populars, they were all mixed together. People who had never said a word to one another back then were talking up a storm now. People who used to be best friends spared each other a smile and a glance but nothing more. A few who used to be confident and outgoing were stood in the corner just watching. Wallflowers that had peeled away from the wall were laughing with the exact same people they used to be terrified of.

Of course there were also things that had stayed the same. Some people looked basically like a slightly older version of their high school selves so they had barely changed in appearance. There were still plenty of people still mingling with their high school clique. Some wallflowers had stayed wallflowers while some extroverts had stayed extroverts. Bisca and Alzack were still a power couple in love with each other and guns. Jet and Droy still followed Levy everywhere she went. The only difference there was that she was stuck to the side of Gajeel, a rebel who hated wore mostly black, had too many piercings, and a usually cold exterior. Erza still stood tall and had that fearsome glare everyone was terrified of. Gray still had that bad stripping habit. Juvia still stuck to him like metal to a magnet. Kana still had a bottle of alcohol gorilla glued to one hand, though thankfully it was legal now, while her other was playing with the cards. The list could go on and on.

"Natsu! Lucy! You're here!" The call came from the one and only Erza. "Come on over here and catch up with us all!" Though she was being light and cheery, a warning tone could be heard in her voice telling them it wasn't an invitation; it was an order.

Not wanting to anger the Scarlet so quickly, they hurried over to where the group was. Everyone offered warm greetings to each other except Gray and Natsu.

"I see you're still a stripper, Stripper," Natsu insulted.

"I see you're still a flame-brained idiot," Gray shot back.

"I see your relationship still hasn't changed," Levy interrupted.

"Of course it ain't changed. Never will as long as Gray keeps stripping."

"And Natsu keeps being a damned idiot."

"Alright, enough of you two. I sure didn't miss your fighting these past years," Erza spoke with an annoyed tone. Then she suddenly smiled brightly at Natsu and Lucy. "You're still a couple I'm guessing?"

"Yep! No divorce yet!" Lucy exclaimed happily.

"Yet? There shouldn't a 'yet' there Luce," Natsu states like it's the most obvious thing in the world. Turning back to the rest of them he says, "She means 'No divorce ever'!

"Oh shut up you idiot! You know what I meant!" Lucy cried out with a slap on his head.

"Jeez Luce. I just wanted to clarify to the rest of them in case they got any bad ideas from that cursed word," Natsu explains with a whine in his voice and a rub on his head where she hit him. Knowing she overreacted a bit but not wanting to admit it, she just crossed her arms and mumbled under her breath. In response, he just chuckled and pulled her closer to him with his arm. "You're cute."

Naturally and without thought, she leaned into him. "You two are still just as cute together as you were back in freshman year when you first got together!" Juvia squealed.

"Yes, you definitely proved all the ones who doubted your relationship wrong," Erza agreed.

"And from the looks of it, you're stronger than ever!" Levy added with a large smile.

"And getting stronger every day!" Natsu beamed proudly. If there was one thing he never minded shouting out to the world, it was his love for the blonde beside him. She'd been there with him through hard times like he'd been for her and the most hurt she'd ever given him was from the Lucy kicks she loved. She was his stability and his other, better half.

Lucy could say the same thing about him. He'd been there for her when she was at her lowest and he'd never once purposely hurt her, not even through the storms of their worst fights. Just as she was for him, he was her stability and other half. She'd never been ashamed of it before and she never would.

After that, the group's conversation drifted away from Natsu and Lucy's relationship to other relationships including Gray and Juvia's and Levy and Gajeel's. The two never stopped holding onto one another though. The conversation had reminded them of why they were so in love with one another and why their relationship never failed.

Around half an hour later, Lucy's phone started ringing so she stepped away from the crowd to answer it. When she looked at the screen and saw the name displayed across it, she felt her heartbeat quicken a tiny bit as anxiety started churning through her. Not wasting any time, she answered the call and brought the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Lucy! I know you're at your high school reunion but something came up and I need to go home. Can I drop by at the school? I'm really, really sorry for this!"

"Of course you can Wendy. I don't want to hold you back from whatever's going on. Plus I'm sure all my friends from back then will love meeting the children. I'll be waiting outside."

"Thanks a bunch Lucy! And again I'm really sorry," the girl on the other side apologized.

"And again, it's okay. Really," Lucy reassured.

"Okay, see you soon. Bye!"

"Goodbye." With that, the end tone rang signalling the end of the call. Locking her phone, Lucy walked back to where Natsu and their friends were still standing. As Lucy reclaimed her place by Natsu's side, he looked over to her with curiosity evident on his face.

"What was that?"

"Something came up and Wendy has to leave. She's dropping the kids off in a few minutes," Lucy reported.

"Well you should probably start making your way out right now with how close we live to here," Natsu suggested.

"Yeah, I guess I should. I'll be back soon, okay?" Natsu nodded his head and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before shooing her away.

"Where's Lucy going?" Gray asked.

"You'll see soon enough," professed Natsu.

Curious at his mysterious answer, the rest of the group prodded him for a better answer but he didn't budge. He knew none of them knew of the kids and he wanted to see their reactions when they came running up with Lucy behind them.

In front of the school, Lucy saw the familiar sky blue car of their babysitter driving up. When it stopped in front of her, she barely had the time to take a single step forward before the back door opened and she saw a flash of pink before a sudden force caused her to stumble backward. "Mommy!"

"Hey there Nashi!"

"I missed you Mommy!" The girl was hugging the blonde tightly and Lucy was surprised how strong she was. Though when she thought about it, it only made sense the girl had inherited her father's strength like she had inherited almost everything else except her brown eyes and intelligence.

"I missed you too, sweetie."

It was then that a blue-haired teenager stopped in front of the two holding a baby and a baby bag in her arms. Stepping forward despite the girl hugging onto her, Lucy reached for the baby.

"Thanks so much for allowing this again, Lucy!"

"No problem, Wendy. All I expect in return for this is a good explanation later," Lucy ordered her.

"Alright! I'll do that," the blunette promised as she handed the bag to the blonde as the baby settled easily in his mother's arm. He was sound asleep.

Waving goodbye, Wendy rushed back to the still running car and unhesitantly rushed off. When the car was out of sight, Lucy turned back toward the high school and started walking, her daughter following closely behind her.

"Where's Daddy?"

"I'm taking you to him right now."

"Will I be able to meet the friends you and Daddy were talking about before you left?"

"Yes, he's with them right now."

"Are they nice?"

"Yes, they are very nice."

"Will they like me?"

"They'll love you."

"What about Iggy?"

"They'll love Iggy too."

The questions and answers continued like this the whole walk until Natsu came into sight. At that point, Nashi ran forward in excitement. "Daddy!"

At the sound of his daughter's voice, Natsu turned around with a giant grin. His children always made everything better. When he saw the girl, his smile only grew. "Nashi!"

When she reached him, she jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. "I missed you Daddy!"

"Missed you too Nash," he said as he looked up to look for his wife and baby. He almost instantly found them and when he noticed Lucy was laughing as she walked at something behind him, he turned around with Nashi still in his arms. What he saw made him burst out laughing as well.

All their friends were staring at the two children with a mix of surprise, happiness, confusion, and more on their faces. "Your faces are priceless!"

Snapping out of their trance, They all turned to face the pinkette. "You guys didn't tell us you have children!"

"They're so cute!"

"What are their names?"

"Who knew Pyro over here could produce such precious children, even with Lucy's genes lowering the damage level?"

"Hey don't insult my daddy like that, Droopy Eyes!"

Everyone in the group burst out laughing at the small girl's outburst, including Lucy who had just reached the group, except Gray. "Hey, I bet you taught her that!"

"No Daddy didn't. That was all me!"

"No way that was you," Gray refused.

"She's got her Daddy's temper and will and my intelligence," Lucy interjected. "She's quite the little lady."

"Mommy, how many times have I told you I'm not a lady! Ladies are weak and girly!"

"Oh that's right. You're a tough little girl, not a lady."

"She's my strong, fearless princess," Natsu remarked as he hugged the girl closer.

It was then that the baby started crying. Lucy, quick as ever to react, started rocking him and cooing softly. The boy had always calmed down best by hearing either of his parents' voices. It only took a minute for him to stop, though now he was fully awake.

"Who's this cute baby boy?" Levy asked, eyes sparkling with adoration.

"This is little Igneel. Iggy for short," Lucy responded.

"He's got his Luce's features for the most part," Natsu shared.

"Let's hope he has my personality too. Nashi is enough of a handful. I don't need three hyper children to watch."

"Better watch out for the Igneel kick if he has your personality," Natsu joked.

"Hey, you better watch out for the Nashi kick too! I won't be beat by a baby!" Nashi demanded as she kicked Natsu's leg.

"Ow, Nashi that hurt," Natsu winced, though it was mostly fake and just to encouage the girl.

"Good."

"If you weren't so tiny, I'd kick you back," Natsu claimed.

"Nuh-uh! You wouldn't dare hurt me! I'm your strong, fearless princess!"

"Says who?"

"Says you! Just a few minutes ago!"

"Fine, you win," grumbled Natsu as he crossed his arms and pouted.

"I knew I would from the beginning."

"See what I have to deal with on a daily basis?" Lucy groaned. On the inside, however, she wouldn't have it any other way. With the two constantly overexcited, hyper people plus a baby, every day was an adventure and everyone knew Lucy loved those.

"I don't know how you do it Lucy. I would've shot my brains out on the second day," Gray wondered.

"What does that mean, Mommy? What is shooting your brains out?" Nashi queried.

"Nothing important, Nashi," Lucy avoided as she sent a glare Gray's way.

"How in the world does she not know what that means with Natsu as a father?"

"Natsu may be an idiot sometimes but he knows better than to introduce a five year old to real violence. Obviously unlike you," Lucy hissed.

"Woah, calm down there Lucy. I didn't mean to anger you."

"Well you did."

"Luce is really sensitive when it comes to our babies so you better watch your mouth, Gray," Natsu warned.

"Only because I don't want to corrupt them," Lucy mumbled.

"I know, Luce. I know," replied Natsu, accompanied by a kiss on the forehead.

After this, time passed quickly for both Natsu and Lucy with each other, their children, and all their childhood friends. Before they knew it, the reunion was over and all their high school peers were heading to where they were staying that night, whether that be a hotel in town, a friend's house, their own home, or some other place.

After the friends updated their contact information and promised to keep in touch better, they started saying their goodbyes and after that, they seperated to go back to their normal lives or small vacations.

Since Lucy and Natsu only lived a block away from the school, they had walked to the reunion meaning they had to walk back. The night had worn Iggy and even Nashi down, leaving the two adults to carry the two children. The walk was quiet and both were relieved when they got to their house and were able to tuck their kids into bed.

When they settled into bed, they both thought about the eventful day. Without saying a word, they agreed they would never trade it for the world.

* * *

 **Heyyo! Here's a new update! It's currently just over one o'clock in the morning on a school night. I would demand you be thankful for staying up late to get you this update but being honest, there's no way I would be sleeping right not anyway so I'm not going to do that. I've been working on multiple new ones but they're all taking forever to finish so when I got the idea for this (honestly I don't even know where it came from) I decided to start it and it came out so much easier than all the others are so I decided to finish it and get it out tonight. I hope you liked it! Especially since it's a nice fluffy one.**


	28. 28: Together Against Worlds

A beautiful combination of reds, oranges, and yellows with a splash of pink created a masterpiece in the sky as the sun was taking its last looks at that side of the world. A soft wind danced through the tall grass as a vibrant rainbow of butterflies lazed around. The field of tall grass gave way to a small strip of dirt and short grass at its west end. Not much farther, the grass and dirt thinned even further until nothing was left but rock. The last of the sun's rays warmed the rock as gentle waves met their end where they met a sudden but small dropoff. Even with the tame waves, some of it managed to jump its way onto the rock.

It looked like a normal landscape, calm and peaceful as the living creatures took shelter for the night. All except for one thing anyway- the pink-haired boy smashing a path through the tall grass. A bright smile was planted on his face despite the grass whipping at his body and the array of colorful butterflies he sent away. The butterflies seemngly watch the boy as they fly to new places away from him. The unfortunate grass in his way is left bent, broken, and wilted, as if a storm went through destoying only that strip of land.

When the boy reached the end of the grass, his pace slowed until it came to a complete halt at the ground's edge. His eyes fixated on the water below him with an excited intensity. "Lucy, come on out. I'm here."

His eyes flicker back and forth, waiting. The land settling behind him and the scene in front of him unchanging, he quietly huffed. "C'mon Luce, don't be like that. I know you're as excited to see me as I am you." His still excited voice was laced with annoyance, a tinge of desperation present as well. His eyes continue to watch the waves as he sits down. His eyes leave the water for seconds at a time as he slowly takes off the sandals on his feet. Once both sandals were off, he set them to the side as he let his feet drop into the cold water below.

"Don't make me get in the water and risk my life getting you myself because I will," he threatens. A second later, water was thrown to all sides not far off from where he sat. A fair amount of those droplets landed on him, effectively moistening his clothes and hair. "Luce! That was rude."

"Don't threaten your life then, Natsu," came an exasperated reply. Floating in the water, arms crossed with a serious expression on her face, was a mermaid. Her blonde hair flowed down, splitting at her shoulders as some of it fell behind her and some fell in the front. Her brown eyes stared at the boy just as intensely as he had been staring at the water. Her tail below the surface is flicking back at forth at lightening speed to keep her afloat. The golden scales started thinning in number above her hips, making a mesmerising pattern as they twisted in lines around her body. All the lines of scales met and ended at the side of her neck. Covering her generous chest was a black top with an intricate design of blue and pink stitched skillfully into it. It had no straps keeping it up.

"Your voice sounds weak. Haven't you been coming up and using it lately?" he asked with genuine worry.

Mermaids usually communicated with clicks while underwater since but they did have a human voice as well. The only problem with it was that it was fragile and they had to go to the surface and use it for at least a few minutes in order to keep it in working condition. If they didn't, they would lose their voice and could only get it back with constant practice and use. There were cases involving mermaids never getting their voice back however. It was a risk not using it in months.

With a shrug of her shoulders, she answered, "I've been busy. I haven't had the time. Besides, I knew you were bound to show up at any time so I figured I could use that time." With each word, her voice grew stronger and less unsure.

"Luce, you know it could've been months more before I was able to come back. What would you have done if I hadn't been able to come today and you couldn't speak the next time I am able?"

"I could get it back eventually. It's not too big of a deal," she stubbornly argued.

Natsu wasn't about to give it up though, not when it could prevent him from hearing the beautiful voice he loved but rarely got to hear. "Yeah, after weeks of constant use and readjusting it. If it all."

With sigh, the girl let her arms drop to her sides from where they had still been crossed. "Alright, fine, you're right. I shouldn't have risked it like that. I promise to be more careful next time."

A grin immediately overtook Natsu's face. "Great! Now, are you gonna stay over there or are you gonna come give me a hug?"

Knowing he'd be silently upset if she refused him, the mermaid was lifting herself onto the ledge in a flash. As soon as she was completely sat down, her arms snaked around his neck as she pulled him closer. He was quick to react and only a second later, his arms were around her waist. "I missed you, Natsu."

"I missed you too, Luce. It's been too long," he whispered in her ear. Despite her wet skin wetting him and the rough scales rubbing his skin, he didn't want to pull away from the girl. He hadn't had her touch for months on end, leaving him deprived of what he wanted most. Now he finally had it again but it was for too short of a time and would be the only time for another few months. It was necessary for him to get the most from what he had while he had it.

Only a minute into the hug, she pulled away, bringing her hand to her temple to rub it. A look of pain was present on her face. "What's wrong? Are you sick?"

She shook her head. "No, no, I haven't been sick in years and I've shown no signs of any kind of sickness. I don't know what this is," she told him slightly panicked. Then, we he glanced down at her tail, a knowing smirk grew on his face.

"Luce, you've done it again. Your tail is completely out of the water." When she looked down, she let out an amused sigh and lowered her tail into the water. With water touching her body once again, the pain dissipated. "You need to be more careful of that Luce. Almost every time I'm here, you get so excited you forget about your needs."

It was common for people to think mermaids could exit water whenever they wanted but that was far from the truth. In reality, they need water to survive. If their tail dried out, they could die and that wasn't even the worst part. The bad part was that their tails dried up incredibly quickly. For a full grown mermaid, it only took around seven minutes to dry out completely, for a teenager about four minutes, and for a child or baby, it only took a minute or two. Nobody, not even the mermaids themselves, knew why their tails dry out so quickly so they had no way of delaying it either.

"You make being excited for your visit sound like a bad thing," she mumbled.

"You of all people should know that's not what I mean at all, Luce."

Crossing her arms over her chest she looked at him with fake annoyance. "I know, I know."

"Since that's out of the way, I must say that's already two warnings I've given you this visit. One more and I might have to skip out on the next trip to watch over you," he jokes.

"If only. Mavis knows we'd both goof off together too much and forget our duties."

"At least you'd make good use of that voice of yours," he mentioned.

"I'd probably use it so much, my normal underwater clicks would be the voice failing," she said, looking away from him to study the movement of the water.

A silence fell over them when Natsu didn't respond. Too busy watching the water she loved and needed, Lucy didn't bother looking up to see why he wasn't responding. She simply accepted it, her eyes still analyzing the blue depths she called home. Besides, she reasoned with herself, it wasn't exactly uncommon for a silence between them. They had some of these comfortable silences every or every other time they met.

When she finally pulled her eyes away from the water to look at him, a light blush dusted her cheeks. She didn't know how she had possibly managed to not notice it but his eyes were locked firmly on her, scanning over her every feature, movement, and action. He was also leaning forward and his face was only a few inches from hers. When their eyes met, he finally snapped out of it, looking away and leaning back as a result, a small blush sparking on his face as well.

By this time the light of the sun had vanished leaving the dim moonlight as their only source of light. A frown works its way onto his face as he realizes he's expected home soon. After all, they're going to leave in early morning light and he needs to be well rested. Despair fills his heart at the thought of not seeing Lucy again for months and it begs him to keep still, ignore the expectstions and logic, and stay with Lucy. His muscles are completely submissive to his heart and moving them takes more effort than it should but his brain nags him to get up and moving. The trip will be even worse than usual if he's sleep-deprived.

Lucy seems to sense his internal struggle when she lets out a sigh. "You have to leave now, don't you?" Natsu can only bear to nod his head with the sadness running through his veins. "And it'd going to be another couple of months before you come back?" Once again, Natsu only nodded. His throat is getting more and more dry by the second. "You should go then."

This time, he forces words out. "I don't want to leave you."

"I don't want you to leave me either." Her voice is quiet as she wraps her arms back around him and her head falls against his shoulder. The feel of his heat on her skin is amazing to her, almost too amazing to give up. "But you have to get sleep. If not, you'll feel like a mermaid out of water during your journey."

Wrapping his arms around her in return, her head tucked under his chin nicely. "It'd be worth it. Our times together are worth all the suffering in the world." His voice shows no sign of humor, telling Lucy this is one of the few times Natsu is ever completely serious. It warms her heart knowing she means as much to him as he does to her.

An idea pops into her mind at this point and she straightens up. "Then go to sleep right here! It's not the most comfortable but I'll stay right here and you'll get your rest!"

Natsu takes a minute to consider it but it's only a minute later that he agrees to it. Sitting up as straight as she can, she guides his head to her shoulder and feels as he relaxes against her. The water calls her but she doesn't dare move. She simply sits there, taking in the feeling of Natsu on her shoulder. Looking down at him, she realizes he's already asleep.

He looks so peaceful she could stare at him all night. So she does.

* * *

 **Hey! I'm back! I'm so sorry for my disappearance! I don't really have an excuse for it besides, "I wanted to read, not write." Plus I've been exploring Hamilton more since I've been getting into that. I wanted to update GRoS before the last update for that one was before the last one for this one-shot collection but I knew I wouldn't be able to finish the next chapter today so I decided this was better than nothing. I'm sorry if the ending for this seems rushed or not. It was extremely rushed but I hope that doesn't obviously translate into the writing. I'll try to get GRoS updated within this month but no promises. I hope you enjoy!**


	29. 29: Wasted

_Wasted._

Years upon years have passed and for Lucy, that one word can describe them perfectly. For twenty-one years she's been thrown around and crushed and for twenty-one years she's done it willingly, sitting in the palm of her father's hand to keep him close the whole time. She's consciously thrown herself under the bus for him. And what had she gotten in return? Criticism, hate, and loneliness.

Now, almost twenty-two years old, she's had enough of it. Her 'normal' clothes, small bag packed full, and nonexistent goodbye note say it all. Her usual multiple thousand dollar dresses are left abandonded in her room and her dozens of large suitcases haven't been touched since the last trip she had to take across the country.

Her body feels light and free with the large t-shirt and short, slightly loose shorts. The ugly brown sandals adorning her feet were amazing compared to the beautiful heels she's worn all her life. The small but spacious bag in her hand is chock-full of nothing but money. Her hair is pulled up in a half-ponytail to the right. No makeup adorns her face and her body is baren of any jewelery, both things being something her father would have a heart attack over if she were to get caught.

The light breeze pricks at her skin as she cracks open the wooden door. It causes her to pause, doubts flooding through her mind ― thoughts like 'My father might need me' and 'I can't leave him all alone here.' However, as quickly as they came, they're shot down with 'He's never truly needed me before' and 'Yes, I can. He probably won't even notice my disappearance until he's either notified by one of the workers or he wants me to attend another ball with him.'

Another step and she's outside. She's not letting another year go wasted.

* * *

 _Wasted._

It's been months since that word even crossed Natsu's mind but now here it is, poking at him and annoying him to no end. With his whiskey bottle in hand he collapses on his bed and when he takes another swig of it, the word finally starts fading away. Natsu supposes he should take this as a good thing but when something new replaces it, he wishes he had just let the word nag at him.

Thoughts he thought he had left behind with his sober self invade his mind, setting his heart on fire and turning his blood to ice. His happiness plummets like hail in a storm, painful and unrelenting. Reminders of what he lost stab at his brain and _what ifs_ rush through. He can feel as his heart drops in his chest, a feeling he's been getting too familiar with lately.

Memories of her push their way to the spotlight. He remembers meeting her in kindergarten. Her voice and the sound of her laugh touch affectionately at his ears yet leave scratches from their invisible claws. Her beautiful face flashes in his mind like a shining light, but it's too bright and it hurts his eyes. The taste of her lips against his intoxicates him more than the whiskey ever had and strengthens the pain he dulls with the whiskey when he realizes it's all in his imagination. Her fingers tracing random patterns on him slices through his skin where the ghost of them touches.

Taking yet another gulp of the alcohol does nothing; in fact, he's almost sure it just makes it worse. Feeling as though another second of this torture will kill him, he takes another drink in hopes it'll start taking affect. Yet again it seems to simply make it worse. So he sits there, drink in hand, on his bed waiting for the feelings and memories wash away.

Having enough of it all, something snaps in his mind.

He shouldn't have to fight for his sanity. Alcohol shouldn't be his escape. It's been nearly three months since he'd done anything with his friends even with their constant nagging. Even Erza hadn't been able to scare him out of his slump. But they were all waiting, hoping, for him. He'd been disappointing them, scaring them, and worrying them. For what? A girl that took him for granted and left him to drown. A girl who's never coming back.

He'd once been an unstoppable force, always prevailing and never giving up his smile. He wanted that back. She had made that stronger only to take it away completely. Now he had reason to rebuild it, even stronger without her and with the help of the people who'll never leave him like she did. He'll be not only unstoppable but untouchable too.

So, just like that, he's up on his feet, pushing through the wreck he's made of his house to his kitchen. The second he made it to the sink, he had the whiskey bottle tipped over. He watched as the liquid spilled out of the bottle and hit the bottom of the sink. He watched as it slipped through the drain. A sense of freedom washed over him. He loved it.

So he decided to call up his friends. He heard the happiness in each and every one of their voices as he set up a nice day out. He hurried to his bedroom and got ready. He took a shower, he shaved, and he brushed his teeth. When he was done he put on some of the nicest clean clothes he had and shoved on his shoes.

He pauses before he leaves his house, looking back at the mess inside. He notes that he'll have to clean the whole house up later.

Another step and he's outside. He's not letting another month go wasted.

* * *

It'd been nearly five months since Lucy left the Heartfilia Mansion and she was happy. She was proud of herself. The money she had brought with her ran out about four months into her adventure so she settled down where she was. She somehow snatched three steady part time jobs. She used practically the last of her money from home to pay rent the first month, though there was a little left. From there, she saved up every penny she could.

For a girl that had relied heavily on her father and his money less than half a year ago, she was doing good. Her only problem was that he still haunted her. He'd verbally abused her for years and no matter how hard she tried to get them to slip right off her, the words stuck to her. Years of getting _useless, fat, ugly, fuck up, mistake,_ and so much more had ways of messing people's minds up. It certainly worked for Lucy.

She hadn't seen him since the day before she left and yet his words still affected her. She couldn't look in the mirror without seeing the imperfections. She couldn't make a mistake without fearing everybody would look down on her for it. She couldn't hear an insult, even if not directed at her, wihtout thinking it fit her perfectly. Most of all, she couldn't live without self-hate.

It took a lot for her to go about her daily routine because of it. Between her jobs, she didn't have much spare time and she usually spent it getting extra sleep, meaning she hadn't made a single friend since she left. It was one of her goals but she hadn't managed to even start accomplishing it. That's why today, one of the rare days she had one job off, she decided to do something about that. She had finished working her second job of the day at 5 and had the rest of the day to do whatever she wanted, where usually she would head straight to her third job to work 6 to midnight.

The problem was that she wouldn't know where to start if she were to go out in person, a result of being deprived of a real social life all her life. She was either alone or at a ball, where she would be expected to smile, look pretty, and only talk if talked to by another. So she went for the next best thing: the internet.

Having only been alone for six months, she hadn't saved enough money to buy a phone or any other kind of eletronic device so that meant she had to go outside. Or, more specifically, to the public library a few blocks from her apartment. It had been a while since she had gone outside wearing anything but her work clothes so she felt delight swirl around in her as she chose her outfit for the day.

Once she was clothed and ready to go, she wasted no time in getting to the library. She sped walked there. Time was limited and this would be her only chance to do this in quite a while. The library only had a few people inside it excluding workers. The calm atmosphere relaxed Lucy as she walked to one of the open computers. She grabbed her library- one of the first things she got after settling in this town- and entered the number in the computer.

 **Welcome Lucy!**

 **Remaining Time: 1 hour**

She pulled up the internet and typed in a website she had overheard a group of people talking about a few days ago. It was like a dating website- users had to be 18 or older, it found people in the same area and with the same interests, etc- but it wasn't for dating. It was made to talk to other people as friends. It allowed guests like a normal chat rooms but it focused more on members who were actually registered. She had somehow miraculously remembered the name of it.

Since she was't a member, she decided to register. Of course she wanted to be able to keep the people she'll meet. What would be the point of making friends with someone only to lose them forever? The website didn't ask for much- just a username, an email, and a password- so it was only a minute or two later that she was offically in.

 **Welcome CelestialKeys! We wish you luck in making new friends!**

 **Would you like a** _ **one-on-one**_ **or a** _ **group**_ **chat?**

Lucy clicked on _Group_ and the page changed to a list of what looked like the group available. At the very top was another message.

 _Welcome to Group Chat Selection. Below are some popular groups. You can click on one of those or filter the results by location, size, interests, and more using the_ _Filter_ _button to the top right. Clicking on a group does not automatically add you to the group. A member of the group will have to approve you. Keep in mind this means it could be hours or days before you're accepted. Enjoy!_

Lucy already knew she needed to filter the results with location but she was going to keep everything else completely open to provde a better chance at finding friends. So she clicked on the filter button then the location button.

 **Please type the name of your city, state, province, country, or other.**

Lucy knew there were many places in the world named Magnolia so she typed in everything she knew about it to make sure she got the right place. Only one option was left so she knew it had to be the right place and she clicked on it.

After clicking the _Done_ button, it went back to the Group Chat Selection screen, where now only a few chats were left. The first one was titled _Magnolia Gamers Unite!_ so Lucy, not being a gamer, decided to skip it. The second option wasn't much better. _Tech Nerds of Magnolia_ just didn't fit who Lucy was. The third caught her attention but it certainly wasn't in the way she hoped. After all, _MAGNOLIA ASS LOVERS INC_ wasn't the most decent name but it was hard to ignore. Moving on to the fourth group, Lucy was relieved to find there was some hope. _Fairy Tail_ was a weird name but it wasn't as exclusive or indecent as the other three.

 _Fairy Tail is for the ones seeking adventure and fun and the ones looking for people to call their family. We're all a tiny bit crazy and a little bit fucked up but we're in it together and we're in it to win it!_

Lucy knew this was it. This was the group she had been looking for. She could only hope that it lived up to the description. There was only one way to find out so she clicked on it. A little box popped up above the screen.

 **Are you sure you want to join** _ **Fairy Tail**_ **?** **Yes** **or** **No**

Lucy was quick to move her cursor over the _Yes_ and press down.

 **Great! You will be notified when you are accepted or rejected.**

Lucy was about to minimize the window, not expecting an answer right away but just as she got her cursor over the minimize button, a new box similar to the _Are you sure you want to join..._ one popped up.

 **You have been accepted into** _ **Fairy Tail**_ **by the member** _ **FireDragonSlayerN**_ **!** **Go to** _ **My Groups**_ **to introduce yourself!**

Exiting out of the small popup box, Lucy quickly went to the top of the screen and clicked on the mentioned tab. It brought her to a simple page that said _My Groups_ at the top and the list of groups right below it. Of course for Lucy that consisted of singularly _Fairy Tail._ She clicked on the group.

 _You have been accepted into Fairy Tail._

 _You have entered Fairy Tail._

Immediately after reading those, Lucy was greeted with a lot more popping up from many different people.

 _FireDragonSlayerN: Yo welcome to Fairy Tail!_

 _ArmorAndSwords: Welcome, CelestialKeys. I apologize in advance for the behavior of these children._

 _Ice: We are not children!_

 _LiteratureLover: I think we all know that's not true, Gray._

 _Ice: celest doesnt_

 _LiteratureLover: I'm sure Celest has figured it out just from this conversation._

 _Kanathealcoholqueen: im not drunl enouf for this._

 _ArmorAndSwords: You're never drunk enough for anything we do, Kana._

 _Kanathealcoholqueen: true_

 _ShooBeeDooBah: Why am I even in this group_

 _LiteratureLover: You ask that every time you're in here Gajeel. (It's because you love me by the way)_

 _ShooBeeDooBah: Shut up Shrimp_

 _FireDragonSlayerN: GUYS WERE SCARING OFF THE NEW PERSON_

 _Ice: i would say sorry but im not since you were the one to point it out natsu._

 _Kanathealcoholqueen: Hay new persom. im kana_

 _LiteratureLover: Hello there, CelestialKeys! Please call me by my real name. It's Levy._

 _ShooBeeDooBah: hey i guess_

 _ArmorAndSwords: I'm Erza. It's nice to meet you._

 _FireDragonSlayerN: AND IM NATSU otherwise known as the best person in this group._

 _Ice: dont listen to him. im the best person in this group_

 _FireDragonSlayerN: And that's gary, the WORST person in this group._

 _Ice: my name is not gary flamebrain. it's gray_

 _FireDragonSlayerN: IT WAS A TYPO ICE PRINCESS_

 _ArmorAndSwords: BOTH OF YOU SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTHS RIGHT THIS INSTANT_

 _Ice: yes maam_

 _FireDragonSlayerN: Yes ma'am_

 _ArmorAndSwords: Those two are the most idiotic people in the group. You'll learn pretty quickly they fight all the time._

Lucy couldn't help but laugh at how lively all these people already seemed. No more messages came in after that so Lucy decided it was a good time to introduce herself.

 _CelestialKeys: Hey, it's nice to meet you all. Since you've all said your real names, I guess it's my turn? I'm Lucy._

 _FireDragonSlayerN: do you want to meet in person? All of us. well all the ones whove talked so far._

Lucy couldn't believe her eyes when she read that. Natsu wanted to meet already? They'd known each other for less than ten minutes. Still, she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.

 _CelestialKeys: sure, when and where?_

 _FireDragonSlayerN: South Gate Park, now?_

 _ArmorAndSwords: The rest of us are already here or on the way._

Lucy typed and sent her answer before she could think it over too much.

 _CelestialKeys: Sure, I'll be there in a few._

* * *

Natsu wasn't sure what to expect when he was waiting for Lucy but it certainly wasn't what he saw. She had walked into the park, obviously looking for someone. Fairy Tail was the only group there so when she saw them, she immediately walked up to them. When Natsu saw her, his breath was taken away from him. She looked so beautiful.

He couldn't help it when he pictured her standing next to Lisanna. He couldn't help it when he started comparing them. It was when he decided Lucy was the most beautiful of the two that he felt pride run through him. Half a year prior he had still been hung up on her leaving him. Three months prior there was no doubt in his mind that she was still the most beautiful girl. But today he found someone better.

What caught his attention the most, however, was the fact that the pain he usually felt after thinking about Lisanna didn't stab through his heart. Well, it did but it was barely noticeable. He pushed those thoughts away as Lucy stopped in front of them, or more specifically, him as he was in the front.

"You must be Fairy Tail?"

"Yes, that's us! You must be Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed, any remnants of Lisanna in his thoughts being pushed away. Lucy nodded her head. "I'm Natsu!"

Erza appeared at his side at that moment. "I'm Erza."

And just like that, everyone started introducing themselves to Lucy. As it was happening, Natsu could only watch Lucy. The way she smiled entranced him in a way he'd never experienced before. He'd been entranced with Lisanna's smile but it was different. Lisanna's smile was sweet and soft, like a flower swaying in a gentle breeze. Lucy's smile was not as soft but just as beautiful, like the pop of color in the sky as the sun sets. Natsu couldn't help the grin that crossed his face as he thought about it. He'd always prefered sunsets over flowers.

Before he knew it, those introductions were over and Lucy was a real member of Fairy Tail. They were on the move shortly after. Lucy fell into the group perfectly and before Natsu knew it, the sunset he had compared Lucy to earlier had appeared. It was a beautiful mix of reds, pinks, and purples. A little yellow was thrown in the mix too.

The group had stopped outside a shop in town and everybody was spread out. Some were standing by the window of the shop, some were sprawled around on the ground, and Natsu and Lucy were sitting on a nearby bench.

"Today was so fun. I'm so glad I decided to do this," Lucy sighed.

"Me too! I like you a lot already, Luce!" Natsu had given the name to Lucy about an hour after they had left the park andf Lucy hadn't been able to get him to stop.

"The only thing that could make it better would be a nice drink. Think we could get one?"

Natsu tensed at this. He really hoped she didn't mean the kind he thought she did but he had to ask. "What kind of drink were you thinking?"

"Well an alcoholic one of course. It's been a while since I've had one and I think it would be a great way to celebrate finally making friends here!"

"No, we can't."

Natsu could feel Lucy's stare at his stern and unexpected tone. "And why not?"

"Because I can't. I've been sober six months and I can't break that now."

There was a moment of silence. "You're a recovering alcoholic?"

Natsu nodded his head. "After my ex broke it off with me, I didn't know how else to deal with it. She was...my first everything and the only girl I'd ever loved. So I used alcohol to get through the first few days. The first few days turned into the first few weeks which turned into the first few months. It finally stopped on June twenty-second when something snapped in my head and I knew it was time to move on." Natsu stopped there, not wanting to go any further.

"June twenty-second, huh? That's funny."

"What?"

"That's the day my life changed as well."

"How so?"

Lucy took a deep breath. "That's the day I ran away from home. From my father."

"Your father? Why would you want to run away from your father?" It didn't make sense to Natsu. His father had been the best thing in his world while he was alive.

"He...wasn't the best. He never physically hurt me but he didn't lack verbal abuse. I still fight his words every day."

"What'd he say?"

"Ugly, useless, waste of space, stupid, annoying, and just about any other insult you can think of."

"You're not any of those things."

"We barely know each other, Natsu. You can't know that."

Natsu felt the passion burning in his stomach as he sat up straighter. Lucy copied his posture and turned to face him. "Ugly. Then why did I find you even more beautiful than Lisanna-the ex- when I compared the two of you in my head when we first met? Useless. Then why do I feel like you're helping me move on with my life by just exisiting despite meeting you mere hours ago? Waste of space. Then why do you fit so perfectly with Fairy Tail and why do we already love you like family? Annoying. Why would everyone here would agree that's not true? And again, why do we already love you like family?"

"Natsu..."

"Yeah Luce?"

"I think we can help each other."

"How so?"

"You said I'm helping you move on just by knowing me. So I can continue knowing you. And that little rant you just went on? That helped me. You can continue reminding me of why my father's words aren't true."

"I'd like that Luce," Natsu smiled. "Maybe things will get better."

"And maybe we won't waste any more time on alcohol and false words."

* * *

 **WHAT'S THIS? Why, it's an update! About time, right? If I had waited eleven more days, it would've been exactly two months since my last update. I'm really sorry but I just haven't been in the right mindset to write. If I'm being honest, besides today I haven't written anything in like a month. But here I am! I wrote most of this today, Only the first Lucy part and some of Natsu's first part was prewritten. But I'm back and hopefully this will last**


	30. 30: Princess

Lucy sat staring at those two pink lines, a sense of dread clawing at her stomach. Each claw hurt more than the last until she had to drop the pink and white stick to hold her stomach. Sitting down on the bathroom floor, she curled up in a fetus position where she waited. Curled up in that comforting ball, she quietly waited for the panic and pain to dull. She didn't know how long it took but once it had faded away enough for her to move, she sat up straight and grabbed the test from where it had fallen not far from her. This time as she stared at it, her mind raced where it had previously been blank with disbelief.

She knew those two lines would change her life forever. They meant life was growing inside her, life that would depend on her for many years and life she would be responsible for until it was old enough to leave her. She found she didn't mind the thought. The problem came when Natsu crossed her mind. What would he think if he found out? She had no doubt he loved her but would it be enough to keep him around? Would he stay? Would he stay physically but leave emotionally? Or would he just go, leaving nothing but his memory and child behind? Her heart told her it was the first choice with confidence but her mind went other places.

They were still young, just barely out of college. The apartment they lived in still had a box here and there from when they moved in just under two months ago. They were living on Lucy's part time job and Natsu's odd jobs. They still had thousands of dollars of debt to pay off from student loans. How could they afford adding a child to the equation? She was sure they wouldn't even have room for it in their one bedroom one bath apartment. It would be cramped for a while for sure.

A glance at the clock shot her back into reality with the realization Natsu would be home in less than an hour and he would notice if she didn't have one of the dinners she insisted on making every day ready like she always did. It would without a doubt raise suspicion and Lucy wasn't sure she could handle lying to him on the chance he asked about it.

So taking a breath, she steeled herself, hid the test in the small trash can, and left the bathroom. As she cooked, she was barely able to keep her mind off the situation though she managed to make it through. When the food was cooling and she had nothing left to do but wait, it was much harder so she forced herself into the world of the book she was currently reading. She was grateful when she realized it was working and she was truly getting distracted.

Of course this couldn't last forever. She was harshly shoved back into the real world when she heard the door open. Immediately she started to prepare, taking in a deep breath. When the door closed, she let that breath out. She plastered a smile on her face when she heard Natsu call out to her. When she saw him, however, all the preparations faded away to be replaced by a real smile and easy breathing. She inwardly scolded herself for somehow forgetting everything was easy around Natsu.

Despite this, she was still uneasy and her immediate reaction to seeing him was to get up and hug him. Her movements were quick and Natsu was surprised by it. She rarely allowed him to touch her right after he got home, when he was still covered from head to toe in sweat. Instead of questioning it, he just slid his arms around her and pulled her closer to him with a kiss to her forehead. "Hey there Luce."

"I missed you today," she replied. It wasn't a complete lie. She always missed him when he was gone and she was here. She just avoided saying the big reason she was being so affectionate. He gave her a grin in response.

"I missed you too." Before either of them could breathe another word, the sound of Natsu's stomach grumbling interrupted them and that was all that was needed to have him pulling away. "My stomach is sayin' it's time to eat!"

"Dinner's ready on the kitchen counter," Lucy informed him.

"Well then let's go eat!" he exclaimed as he dragged her there by the wrist. As soon as he saw the food, he dropped her arm and grabbed a plate. He was sitting at the kitchen table just a second later. She watched him scarf down the food, feeling love fill every inch of her body. He was getting his third plate as she was finishing her first.

That's how it always worked. He would eat like he'd been deprived of food for a week while she ate slowly. They never talked, just enjoyed the food and each other's presence. It was after dinner that any real conversations started. Usually they would go on about random things and it would end with plenty of laughter, smiles, and kisses. As conversation declined, they would start to relax more and more until they were simply cuddling on the couch.

That night was no different. After they finished eating, they moved to the living room where they talked about nothing and everything. Starting on each other's day - Lucy obviously left out the part with the test - and ending up on the most memorable time they skipped class in high school.

"It was your fault we got caught," Natsu stated matter-of-factly.

"My fault? Natsu, you were making so much noise I'm surprised we didn't get caught immediately." Lucy was slightly offended by his accusation.

"Yeah but I'd done it before so I knew what I was doing. You did not."

"Oh well, _excuse me,_ for being a good kid that didn't regularly break into buildings for their bouncy houses of all things," Lucy says dramatically, sharpness in her voice but amusement on her face.

"Bounce N' Laugh was the only fun thing in that town and school was the only time I was in town," Natsu defended himself.

"You're such a child." Natsu was a child but she loved him for it. She admired him for how carefree he was and always had been.

"But I'm your child," he replied as he pulled her closer to close the space between them. She let her head fall against his chest.

"Yeah, my child." In Lucy's mind, it was now a free-for-all. She subconsciously set her hand on her stomach. All the questions and fears from before swirled around like disturbed dust in an abandoned house. How could they handle a child? Going to her father was certainly out of the question. She hadn't said a word to him since the day she moved out from his estate and Natsu didn't have any family left after Igneel's departure. She had her friends to help her but they could only do so much. She didn't want them to go too out of their way all the time for her anyway. She would probably have to get another job and that brought up another question. Where would the child go when she was working? She couldn't afford daycare or a babysitter. She might have to enlist the help of her friends for that or find a really cheap, but trusted, babysitter.

She was brought out of her worries when Natsu shifted his position and took her hand in his, the hand she had set on her stomach in her thoughts. "C'mon Luce. It's getting late and you're obviously tired. Do you even know what I said?"

Blinking up at her boyfriend, she shook her head and hid her worry with a sheepish smile. "You said something?"

Standing up with a shake of his head, he laughed, "Jeez, you're even worse than I thought." As he stood, he wrapped his arms around Lucy and brought her up with him. He was walking toward their bedroom with her in his arms before she even realized she had been picked up.

"Put me down!" Lucy demanded. Natsu simply ignored the light pounding of her fists against him until he got to the bed. Once on her side of the bed, he swung her back, then let go as he swung her forward again. She landed on the bed with a yelp and a muffled thud.

"Natsu!"

"Shush, go to sleep," he ordered as he flipped the light switch to plunge the room into darkness. A second later, Lucy felt the bed sink with Natsu's weight added onto it. His arms wrapped around her and gently guided her body down and toward him so she was laying against his chest. His abnormally high body temperature did wonders to heating her up and his breathing easily calmed her down. Those two things together quickly made her forget about her big dilemma and before she knew it, they had led her to one of the lands her mind created for her each night. That night she dreamed of a land with all her friends but more importantly, Natsu and a baby girl in her arms.

Lucy awoke to the shrill blaring of her alarm. Natsu was still sleeping, his arm wrapped limply around her waist and one of his legs sandwiched between both hers. She quickly shut the alarm off and flopped back into the bed. She didn't go back to sleep or even close her eyes. She just laid there, contemplating whether she should get up or stay in bed and think about the future. It took her several minutes but once she realized Erza would literally kill her if she showed up late to the girl's day out - just five more minutes would put her behind schedule - her mind was made up.

She threw the covers off and sat up so her legs were dangling off the bed's edge. Holding her hands above her head and arching her back, she sighed. She knew today would be exhausting. The news revealed to her the day before would ensure that, whether she decided to keep it a secret from all her friends for now or not. If she told them, they would fuss over her and want to tell everyone. If she didn't she'd have to keep up with he lie all day and avoid thinking about it. With those thoughts in her mind, she looked back at Natsu. She couldn't help but think the baby she had hidden from him last night had been concieved right where he was currently sleeping peacefully.

Wanting to put those thoughts to the side, she stood up and shuffled her way to the bathroom. The bathroom proved to be a worse environment for escaping those thoughts. One glance at the trash can brought them to the front of her mind once again. With them came the worries and fears she had tried to suppress after calming herself post-test. She was relieved that she had at least done well in hiding the test so she couldn't see it with her eyes anymore. Picturing it in her head was enough.

The hot water streaming down and over her body in the shower was a welcomed distraction. She focused on the feeling of the water heating her skin and relaxing her muscles. It brought her into a calm daze of sorts, lost to the world but not because she was caught in the tangles of thought like she so often was. She was only snapped out of it at the sound of her second alarm - the one telling her she had fifteen minutes to be out the door - ringing back in the bedroom. It was then that she realized the water wasn't even hot anymore, just warm.

Shutting off the water, she jumped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body. Hurrying out of the bathroom, she returned back to the bedside and shut off her alarm. After making sure Natsu was still sleeping, she got dressed in a simple but nice outfit, thankful she had thought ahead and had picked the outfit the day the plans for this day out were made a week ago and waiting for her at the very edge of her closet.

Once in the bathroom again, she quickly dried her hair so it was at least not dripping water and put it up in a half ponytail, her favorite hair style. It was simple and easy to do but looked nice and wasn't as boring leaving her hair completely down or as plain as putting it in a full ponytail. She didn't want to bother with any extravagant make-up, nor did she have the time for that anyway, so she decided to go with the most basic look.

When she was done with that, she was finally ready to go. She left the apartment with a single minute to spare. Natsu already knew what she had planned for today but she had made sure to leave a note for him just in case. He was known for forgetting things like that.

The drive to the bistro they planned to meet at was silent other than the growl of the car's engine and the faint sound of the music turned down to five and in the silence, she made up her mind for the answer of the question she had contemplated right upon waking up. She would not be telling her friends today. When she arrived at the place, she easily spotted her friends sitting at an outside table. She was the last one to arrive.

"Hey guys!" she greeted as she got closer to the table they were at.

"Lucy! You've finally made it!"

"Juvia's happy to see you again, Lucy."

"Hi Lucy!"

"Ah, just in time. Another minute and you would have been late. I was beginning to think I would have to go retrieve you myself."

"Nice to see you guys again too," she said.

There was a single open seat, obviously pulled up from a different chair judging by the table next to theirs which had a total of three chair compared to their table's five. By the time she sat down, her friends were already on another topic and just another minute later, the food her friends had ordered arrived.

With the food, it was easy to fall into the comfort of staying silent for the most part and just listen to her friends talk and playfully bicker so that's what she did. It kept her mind off her pregnancy but also kept the spotlight off her, therefore reducing the chances of slipping up and saying something to give the news away. It worked too until her friends noticed.

"Lucy, you're being awfully quiet," Erza said, giving the blonde a pointed look.

"Yeah, Erza's right. You've barely said a word since you sat down," Wendy agreed.

"Is there something wrong?" Levy asked.

Lucy shook her head. "No, there's nothing wrong. I'm just thinking."

"Juvia is curious what you're thinking about."

"Yeah, so am I. Would you care to share?" Wendy asked.

"It's not that important." Lucy felt a stab of guilt at the lie but ignored it. Her friends exchanged glances at her words, making Lucy think they saw right through the lie. Lucy was thankful when they relented and dropped the topic. After that, Lucy made sure to add into the conversation every once in a while to avoid any further questions from them.

She kept that up until the talk turned to focus on Levy's life with Gajeel and their two kids, twins almost five years old. From there, the whole conversation turned to family and more specifically having children. It, of course, forced Lucy to think about the one growing inside her. As she thought about it, her focus faded from the conversation her friends were having to her own thoughts. Instead of all the worries and fears she had expected to rampage her mind, they were happier thoughts, daydreams of a happy family. She pictured made up little moments. They were small things like reading to her child before bedtime, family dinners filled with conversation and laughter, and the little hugs and kisses that made it worth everything. Those daydreams blocked out any fears she had had previously and she could feel herself smiling.

A hand in front of her face and her name being loudly called harshly knocked her out of her reverie. Her body, which had started to slump in her daydream, tensed and straightened before she remembered where she was and she realized it was just her friends.

"Lucy!"

"Sorry, what's happening?"

"We were talking about Levy's kids and you stopped talking completely," Erza explained, her voice showing concern.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just thinking again." She scolded herself inwardly for allowing herself to get so caught up in her thoughts.

"Juvia wants to know if you're okay."

"Is it what you were thinking about earlier?" Levy asked.

With a sigh, Lucy nodded her head. "Yeah, it's the same thing." She saw her friends exchange glances once again.

"Lucy?"

"Yes, Wendy?"

"Would what you're thinking about have something to do with a child?"

"What? Of course not! What makes you think that?" Suppressing a cringe at her immediate reaction, she knew she had basically told them at that point.

That was only proven when Wendy motioned toward her stomach. "You've been touching your stomach since we started talking about children." Looking down, Lucy realized Wendy was right and she quickly pulled her hand away.

"Oh, that's not for any reason." She knew it was pointless and all her friends must have figured it out by now but she couldn't stop herself from trying to deny it. She wasn't ready to truly accept it yet.

"Lucy, you're pregnant! When did you find out!" Levy's excitement was obvious and she was more excited than Lucy had been yet.

Knowing there was no point trying to deny it now, Lucy sighed. "Last night."

"Does Natsu know?"

"No, he doesn't and I don't plan on telling him any time soon."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't know how he's gonna react." She felt the fears creeping up on her again, clawing at her stomach with invisible talons.

"How he'll react? Lucy, this is Natsu we're talking about, the man who loves his family more than he loves the next four things on his list of most important things combined. You know he'd do anything for you," Erza pointed out.

"Yeah, for me. But what about a baby?"

"This baby is half of him, half you. Of course he'll love the child. I'd say you'll have competition for the top spot in his heart from now on."

"Juvia agrees with Erza and Levy. There is no possible way Natsu won't love the baby."

Lucy simply nods, taking everything they said to heart. Of course she had known all this before but fear is a powerful thing and despite all the rest of her saying the fear was ridiculous, there had been that part that couldn't ignore it. Out loud, Lucy just says a simple thanks.

"That's not the only thing on your mind though, is it Lucy?" Wendy asked. Lucy confirmed it with the shake of her head."

"What else is on your mind, Lucy?"

"It's just...Natsu and I, we're still so young. We're barely out of college and even more barely settled into the apartment. We're living paycheck to paycheck right now with just the two of us. How will we ever find the time and money to raise a child?"

"Lucy, you have a great example of someone who successfully made it through a very similar experience right in front of you," Erza said, gesturing to Levy. "She got pregnant at 18 and look at her now, living a happy life with a family she loves with all her heart and working a stable job that does well to support that family. You should know it's very well possible."

"Erza's right. I think you have nothing to worry about. You helped me so much throughout my pregnancy. Now it's just my time to return the favor."

"And Juvia will also be there to help Lucy! Juvia would love to babysit when you're busy!"

"And you know I'm a future doctor. I can help you deal with the pregnancy itself. Of course with regular visits to real doctors too!" Wendy offers.

With all this reassurance said and floating around in Lucy's head, she smiled. "Thanks you guys. I really needed that pep talk."

"It's our pleasure Lucy."

"Now that that's out of the way, who thinks we should abandon the rest of our plans to help Lucy tell Natsu?"

* * *

That was how Lucy ended up sitting in front Natsu, anxiety and fear ripping away at Lucy's insides as she prepared to tell him the news. After the original pep talk when Erza, Levy, Wendy, and Juvia found out about the baby ended, the five of them talked it out and in the end, they convinced Lucy to tell him exactly a week from that day.

Throughout the week they'd been supporting and preparing Lucy for it. They had managed to build up her confidence pretty well and before she sat down, she was confident. That had all evaporated once the time came for the words to actually leave her mouth. He was looking at her expectantly and she had managed to say nothing useful. All he knew was that she had to share big news. He had no idea what it was.

Luce? What is this news you want to tell me?" he asks, trying to prod the words out of her. After several more minutes of her floundering to find her words, he sighed and stood up. Fear shot through her at the thought that he'd given up and was about to leave her for good when he just crossed the room to her and picked her up. Then he plopped down right where she had been sitting and started stroking her hair, something he knew calmed her down. "C'mon now Luce. Calm down."

Practically melting into him, she focused on his body heating hers and his hands running over her hair. The effects were noticeable almost immediately to her. Her heartbeat slowed, breathing became easier, and her shaking hands evened out. They sat like that for over ten minutes before Natsu spoke up again.

Gently guiding her to an upright sitting position, he looked her in the eyes but kept his hands steady on her skin, successfully grounding her to reality while also putting her in an easier position to tell him the news. "Whatever's got you so shook up is obviously important so just take a breath and tell me when you're ready, okay?"

Lucy nodded. "Can...Can we just cuddle for a bit? Then I promise I'll tell you."

"Of course we can, Luce. Whatever will help you." With that, she laid back down on top of him. She didn't know why the fear was suddenly so strong, after a week of it being weaker to the assurances of her friends and the logical side of her own brain but the words just wouldn't come out correctly. Deciding not to fret over it, she pulled herself up and kissed him. He was instantly kissing back and she couldn't help but smile into it.

When they pulled away, Lucy laid down on him once again. "I love you, Luce."

"I love you too, Natsu."

With that, she let go of the news and her fears for a while. It was half an hour later that she felt brave enough to tell him so she sat up straight, looked him in the eyes, and forced herself to get on with it. "I'm ready to tell you now," she said.

He smiled and nodded, grabbing her hand in his. Taking a deep breath and letting his hand over hers calm her, she finally told him. "Natsu, I'm...well, I'm pregnant."

The room was silent for a moment and the fears started clawing at her again but before they could do any real damage to her, Natsu's smile grew into the biggest grin she had ever seen on him. "Pregnant?" Lucy nodded and then suddenly she was being wrapped in his arms. "Luce that's amazing! I'm gonna be a father! You're going to be a mother! _We're_ gonna be _parents_ Luce!"

"You're not angry?"

"Angry? How could I be angry? Is that what you were worried about?" She simply nodded. "Oh Luce I could never be angry about this! This is the best thing to happen to me since you!" At this she felt her heart swell, any doubt crushed to ash by his words. She didn't even realize she was crying until she felt Natsu's thumbs wiping the tears away.

"Why ya crying?"

"I was just so worried but you're so amazing and perfect and I love you so much, Natsu! I don't know how I ever doubted you!" In response, he leaned in and kissed her. The kiss was passionate but gentle, loving and fierce. It was the embodiment of the love she'd shared with Natsu so far and of what she hoped would spread to the child.

After that kiss, Lucy spilled all her worries once again as Natsu listened. When she was done, Natsu hugged her. "Luce, you're the most amazing person I know. For how amazing you think I am, it's doubled for you. This baby will love you and you'll be the best mother they could ever hope for. Even if money is tight sometimes, you'll make sure this child gets what he or she deserves and we'll make it through with hard work, love, and laughter. She or he will be our prince or princess and you know what that makes you? My queen. A queen never fails those who need her most."

"I'm so thankful I have you," Lucy said through her tears,

"And I'm thankful for you and this baby."

From there, the two just hugged, kissed, and let love radiate through their whole apartment until Natsu suddenly jumped up. "Luce! We have to go baby shopping!"

"Natsu, we don't know the gender or anything!"

"Then we'll look at the gender neutral stuff!"

"And with what money will we buy the stuff?"

This brought Natsu to a halt. His smile faded when he realized they didn't have the money for it. When Lucy saw the heartbroken look on his face, she felt her heart breaking with it. So she grabbed his hand and led him to the entrance. "But Luce, you said yourself we don't have the money."

"That doesn't mean we can't look and choose for later." With that, the smile returned to Natsu's face and he shoved his shoes on, practically skipping out of the door. Lucy wasn't far behind. The ride to the store was loud, filled with talking, laughing, and Natsu yelling the news to every person he saw as Lucy tried to get him to stop. Of course nothing worked and eventually Lucy let him show his excitement, that grumpy woman glaring at them as they passed be damned.

Once in the store, Natsu only got even happier. While he was jumping and running around less, at the orders of Lucy, it was obvious he was ecstatic. Lucy, and all the other people in the store, would say he was happier than Lucy herself. It warmed Lucy's heart, knowing this baby would be loved by him and grow up with a father that would do anything for them. Watching him move through the aisles, picking only the best, most adorable things for the baby, she knew everything would be just fine.

* * *

She was right. From that day forward, Natsu was right by her side, helping her through the bad mornings and being patient with her during her mood swings and extreme cravings. Lucy wanted a baby girl and Natsu, he didn't have a preference. Either way, he would love them, play with them, and defend them with all his strength. When the time came around to find out the gender, they went in together with high hopes and endless happiness. Neither were nervous. That day they walked out of the ultrasound and immediately went to the store, picking out all the cutest clothes for a baby girl.

By the last two months, they had their house ready. It was baby-proofed and it was filled. In every previously unused area, there was a toy, some diapers, a bouncy seat, or some kind of baby specific object. A crib was set up right next to their bed and next to that, drawers with clothes. As they imagined, it was cramped but it would do until they could move into a house closer to what their baby girl would deserve.

Time flew and when the day came for the child to enter the world, it came with great joy. They had known it would be at any time and Natsu was ready. If someone asked him, he would say that the last month, the last two weeks especially, he had been prepared to jump up and help her through until the ambulance got there every second he was with her. He was ready to rush her to the hospital on his own if it came to it. When he wasn't with her, he was ready to drop whatever he was doing to meet her there.

When the moment came, that's exactly what he did. Late at night, just as they were about to go to sleep, it happened. The second Lucy looked up at him, her eyes wide, he knew just what was happening. He was on the phone within seconds and by her side i even less. As they waited, he held her hand and took deep breaths with her. He did everything he knew. It took only a few minutes for the ambulance to get there and not even half an hour later, she was in the hospital, a professional right next to her. The actual birth took only two hours from start to finish. Natsu was by her side the whole time.

The baby came out healthy, crying as she should have. As soon as the nurse handed her to Lucy, she stopped crying. She just cuddled into her body and relaxed. When Natsu held her, she fell asleep. All their friends were crowding the waiting room and as they were let in two at a time, they all fell in love with her two at a time. Levy's kids kissed her and said she was officially their little sister. Any boys would have to go through them first. Natsu agreed and said they were appointed as his official back ups. Any boys would have to go through the twins, Lucy, and Natsu. Gray said no one would ever be good enough. Natsu said they finally agreed on something.

At nearly midnight, their friends left. Shortly after that, Lucy fell asleep with the baby in her arms. As gently as he could, Natsu picked her up. For several minutes he just sat there, looking at his baby girl until he smiled and kissed her head.

"I'm so happy to have finally met you, baby girl. I've been waiting for nine months now. Tomorrow we'll get to go home and our life together will truly begin. I'll watch you grow and I'll watch you laugh. I'll help you smile and you'll help me on. I promise you I'll never let you get hurt. One day, I know you'll have the world wrapped around your finger. But until then you'll have to deal with just me. I hope that'll be enough for now. I love you, my princess."

A few years later, among their many pictures, the one of the baby girl in a shimmering dress and sparkling crown sat front and center, next to one of the two parents, the mother in a similar outfit and the father with his own crown and suit.

* * *

 **WHAT'S THIS? AN UPDATE? IMPOSSIBLE! But alas, it is possible after all. After months and months of silence, I come back with a 5,000+ word part! I actually really tried for this one. It was also gonna turn out sad (With a miscarriage) but then I was like, nah. I think it should be happy. So instead of starting the next part with "She knew everything would _not_ be just fine," I did what's written up there. Kinda rushed at the end but I mean I'm already super proud of everything before that so whatever. So yeah, that's that. I hope you enjoyed! See ya!**


	31. 31: Man Enough Now

_Dear Lucy Heartfilia,_

 _You probably recognize this sloppy handwriting (It hasn't changed since high school.) but if we were to meet today, you would see that everything else about me has changed. I know this letter is sudden and out of nowhere but recently I've been thinking about you so I decided to write you up. To answer the question I know you have in your head, I still have Levy in my contacts and through miraculous luck, she hasn't changed it once. I texted her and got your information. After some serious begging of course. Anyway, I just want you to know I'm sorry for who I was back then and what I did to you._

 _I was a stupid kid back then, just trying to figure it out and I couldn't. I was too immature and I always gave you the run around. I ran from forever because I was too dumb to see what I see now. I was scared and I didn't want to lose my freedom. So I always gave you those stupid excuses. I pretended I needed time to think and space to breathe to keep you just close enough. I wanted you to wait for me but I never thought about how I was making you feel. I never gave your emotions and needs a second thought. I was too caught up in mine._

 _But you weren't waiting and you left me. I wouldn't admit it then but I deserved it. At first I blamed you. I gave so many lies to myself and others in that denial. I couldn't see that you just did what you needed. I was blind and couldn't (or maybe didn't want to) see that I was the one at fault. I fell in love with you because you were strong and took no shit from anyone. I loved how you were so grown up at such a young age. You were already a woman in high school. But you. You fell in love with a child. I was trapped in the past. I didn't treat you right. I couldn't imagine what "forever" meant. I put my questions above your love. I ran away._

 _I can't go back and I can't change what happened. I can't redo what has been done and I hate that. I wish I could go back, punch myself in the face, and straighten up. But I can't. All I can do is be better now. So I did. I've stopped running from forever and I've grown up. My childish side is still very much intact (Nothing could ever take that from me) but I'm not the kid I was. I've learned a lot about life since then and I'm ready for forever. I've looked at all the things I could've and should've done. All the things I would've done if you had stayed longer. I've grown up and got my shit together._

 _I bet you never expected to see this and I'm not sure if I ever expected to write it but one of the few things that hasn't changed is my love for you. I never stopped loving you after you left. Sure, those first weeks before graduation were spent blaming you, but it still hurt. After graduation, when our lives were finally torn completely apart, I continued to blame you. But as the weeks, hell, even as the months and years progressed, I finally started seeing the truth. It took a long time but I'm an adult now, the one you wanted all those years ago. I'm ready to push my pride out of the way and make a girl like you want to stay._

 _When you see this, if you have the time of day and you bother with it, please don't judge me for the kid I was. I regret him. Just know that I've never seen another girl since you and if you ever want to consider a second chance, I'm man enough now._

 _~Natsu Dragneel_

The letter dropped to the wooden desk below, a sigh escaping the blonde. She couldn't believe it. Natsu freaking Dragneel had contacted her and not only that, he did it to apologize for his behavior years ago. High school was over seven years ago and he'd been thinking about her the whole time? It was purely unbelievable.

 _You're exaggerating. I say I love you first sometimes."_ Anger flooded his eyes. She could see it and it scared her.

 _"It's not your fault. It's just some space."_ He was looking at her now, eyes filled with nothing. She wanted to see happiness in it again.

 _"I just need time to think, Lucy."_ He was looking away again. She guessed looking away from her was his new favorite thing to do.

 _"I can't do this right now. Give me a little room to breathe."_ She could see the back of his head now and it hurt.

 _"I'll see you later Lucy."_ She watched, heart burning, as he took his first steps away. Somehow, it felt like she saw too much of this and not enough of his face.

 _"Sorry, I have to go but I'll text you."_ The words were spoken to her but he was facing the other way, several feet away already. The only thing that helped her aching bones was the sincere tone of voice he used.

 _"Yeah, love you too."_ It was hastily said, like it didn't truly matter.

 _"Nah, I'm busy today. And tomorrow."_ And just like that, he was gone.

The flashbacks, the times he'd run away and the words he'd used, exploded in her mind. She rubbed her forehead, trying to calm the racing memories of the boy that broke her heart. She hadn't revisited those since, well, she couldn't even remember. Her eyes slowly raked over the paper to the bottom. He said he regrets all those times. All those days she thought he was hopeless. Were they all wrong? Her mind transported to a day toward the end, a celebration for the seniors before the last few weeks came.

 _"I'll call you as soon as I'm done, promise."_ He'd had something to do before and he'd refused to tell her what. She was upset and thought he was planning on ditching her.

 _"But it's not gonna be any fun without you there!"_ Her father had called and demanded her prescence. He sounded legitimately upset over the phone.

 _"Pft, like you could ever be ugly. You're the most beautiful person on Earth!"_ She'd managed to get away from her father on time. So she was freaking out over her appearance but just that sentence alone melted her heart and she nodded, moving to adjust the strap to make it fit better.

 _"C'mon! We can't be late and I'm not leaving you behind!"_ He was dragging her behind him, excitement rippling through his body, which was warmer than ever. She felt good.

 _"Oh this is gonna be great, Luce! Can't you tell?"_ The party was just about to start and the crowd was milling around energetically, voices and yells coming from every which way. Lucy had a really good feeling about the night.

 _"I'm so glad you could make it, Lucy."_ They were huddled together by the bonfire, the night winding down. With his warmth, Lucy thought she wouldn't mind never leaving that spot.

 _"This was the best day ever. Thank you."_ They were outside her door, preparing for goodbye. She was sad to leave his arms and he looked sad to leave her presence but she pushed on, refusing to give in to him. He'd given her one more good night and she wasn't sure there'd be another.

 _"Lucy Heartfilia, I need you to know I love you with all my heart."_ She'd barely heard it through the door she'd just closed and she chose to ignore it. She thought she must have misheard. The wind, she decided to call it.

A thought that had never occurred to her before popped into her mind. What if he really had loved her? What if he hadn't been as fake as she'd thought all this time? Her heartbeat quickened and she felt want, no, _need_ pull at her body. She didn't think as she slid her chair back and stood up. She didn't question anything as she half ran to her cell phone on the kitchen counter. She thoughtlessly dialed Levy's number, hands shaking as it rang.

"Hello?"

"Levy! I need Natsu's number! I know you have it!"

"Lucy? You want Natsu's number? As in Natsu Dragneel?"

"Yes Levy! I need it right now!"

"Alright, alright, chill. I'll text it to you."

"Great! Thank you so much!" Lucy ended the call before her friend could reply and tapped impatiently on the counter as she waited for the text message. Finally, what felt like minutes later, a _ping_ lit up her screen. Scrambling to open the message, she copied the message. Within half a minute, she had the dialer open and the number pasted onto it and within another split second, her finger tapped the call button.

She lifted the phone to her ear, heart pounding out of her chest as it rang once and then twice. She took a deep breath and it rang a third time. Then, just as the fourth ring was beginning, it got cut off and replaced by a very familiar yet completely stranger voice. "Hello? Who is this?"

"Natsu..." She hadn't meant to give such a weak reply but hearing his voice again, no matter how matured it had become from the last time she'd heard it, had shocked her to the core.

There was a small gasp from the other end of the line and then a deep breath. "Lucy?" His voice was quiet, nervous even.

"Yeah, that's me."

"W-what...What do you need?" Her heart melted just as it had that night at the party. Just a minute into speaking to him for the first time in many years and he already had her back where she had left.

"I still love you too."


End file.
